Huh?
by AllieJenzie
Summary: Alex is a normal girl, just about to graduate High School, but what happens when she makes a wish on a star and an unexpected black hedge hog appears in her room? But the big problem is, he's been turned human? Shadowxoc, Knucklesxoc
1. Chapter 1

**Okay! My first chapter! XD! I really hope all of you enjoy it, and if you don't like, please don't review For those who have read my story all ready, you may notice some changes. I re-wrote this chapter and added details here and there. The basic idea is the same though, so I hope you enjoy.**

_Alex...Alex!_ The voices continued to call my name, over and over.

"Who are you!" I called into the darkness. No one replied. It was so dark. An empty space of nothing. It was a scary type of dark. I felt as if I was alone. Alone to wonder this darkness for all eternity. _Please, someone…. Anyone…. Please save me._ I could feel tears starting to burn my eyes. _"No…"_ I whispered trying to hold them back. _"I don't want to be alone."_ I was close, so close to losing hope. One more minute of that and I would have given in. Given into the darkness.

"_Wake up._" I gasped at the sound of a deep calming voice. _"Wake up Alex_." it repeated.

**BRING**!

"Wah!" I yelped sitting up and punching my alarm clock into the table. I sat in my bed for a long time after that. Another nightmare? I had been having those a lot lately. Most of them were the same, me just wondering in darkness, but I would always wake up right before everything seemed lost.

"Alex!' My younger sister, Niki, called to me. "Come on, we're going to be late for school!"

I gasped. That's right, School. With the school festival coming up soon, everyone was buzzing around like a bunch of bees. "Be right there." I called to her, flipping the sheets off of me and scrambling for my cloths. Once I lifted my shirt over my head and adjusted my jeans, I glanced at my poster of Shadow the Hedgehog. I smiled. I had always been a fan of Shadow. He was cool, mysterious, but could be sweet when he wanted to be. Though some might find it weird for an 18-year-old girl to still have so many plushies and posters on one cartoon, I found it fun. Some of you may agree with me.

"Alex!" Niki whined impatiently from the stairs.

"I said I'd be right there." I snapped, grabbing my bag and racing down the stairs. By the time I had reached the bottom step Niki was leaning against the door, tapping her foot.

"Ready!" she called over the sound of her headphones. I grabbed one of the headphones and pulled it out of her ear.

"You're going to go deaf if you turn your music all the way up." I commented. Niki pulled away, causing her head phones to fall back into place. Grinning at me, she opened the door. Niki was my only other sibling. She was about a year and 2 months younger then me, so it was easier to talk about school and such. Niki's normal clothing choice was the same everyday. Baggy jeans, a tang top, and a leather jacket. At least she didn't have spikes.

"Can we go now?" Niki asked pulling some of her black hair behind her ear. Niki had long waist length black hair that always seemed perfectly brushed. Niki could go five whole days without taking a shower before her hair even started to look a little bit greasy.

"Yeah." I nodded as I stepped through the door, instantly welcomed by fresh air. Niki grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder before she walked out the door after me, blinking her sea colored eyes at me.

"Well, lets go." she motioned towards the car.

"Oh right." I laughed as I closed the door and locked it.

"Jeez sis, you've been zoning out a lot more lately." She sighed.

"Yeah I guess." I shrugged pulling out my keys and walking up to the car. I stopped to look at my reflection in the glass. I had blonde hair that led to the middle of my back with a slight curl at the end. My eyes were an amazing light blue with a little green to them. I couldn't go a day without a teacher or adult telling me how bright my eyes were though.

"Hello? Earth to Alex, I would like to leave the driveway sometime today." Niki said tapping her finger on the glass impatiently.

"Oh!' I gasped snapping out of it and unlocking the door. Niki got in the front seat as I turned on the car. I looked into the rear view mirror and slowly backed out of the driveway, before I switched gears and started down the road.

"So…" Niki said slowly leaning against her hand as she stared at me. "Have a date to the Festival dance?" Niki asked. I narrowed my eyes.

"You know I don't dance Niki." I scowled.

"That doesn't mean you can't go and hang out with which ever lucky guy you're going with." Niki wiggled her left eyebrow, smirking.

"Okay, that eyebrow thing is really weird, and I'm not going." I glanced at her before looking back at the road.

"Awe and why not?" Niki whined leaning over towards me to grab my sleeve. I yanked my arm away, trying to keep the car under control.

"Because, as you know, I hate dances." I said blankly.

"But this is your last year of High school and you haven't even gone to one yet." Niki complained. "And I want to have a brother in law sometime this lifetime, so if you don't start dating you're going to end up as a lonely old cat lady." I rolled my eyes.

"And what about you? You've only dated one guy your whole life and he ended up cheating on you... with me."' I pointed out, shuddering at the memory. His name was Adam. He was two years younger then me, and was in a few of Niki's classes. A few weeks into the school year, he had surprisingly asked Niki to start dating him. Saying yes, mainly so she could get experience with having boyfriends, Niki and Adam began to date. After a month though, Niki invited Adam over for some lemonade. Being the kind sister I was, I decided to make them their drinks. Niki left though to answer her phone, which she had left in her room. As soon as she had gone, Adam had begun to...flirt with me. Granted, I didn't realize at first what he was doing because I myself had never had a boyfriend. So I did not know what any of this meant. I was pretty naive back then. Niki sure knew though, and had been listening from the stairs. Furious, she dumped him on the spot. He didn't seem too upset about it and smirked. Saying something about liking me more then her anyway. After that he left, and I haven't seen him much since.

"Yeah." Niki sighed. "I don't know what I saw in him." She shrugged, folding her arms behind her shoulders. I shrugged in agreement as I turned into the parking lot. "Hey, they got the poster up." Niki said as she stuck her head out the window to get a better look.

**Timber High Festival- March 11th, 5:00 to 11:00. Bring a date, chill out, and remember to vote for our Timber High School Kind and Queen**

"It turned out pretty good." I commented taking my eyes off the road for a couple seconds. Niki nodded as she stuck her head back in. Turning towards the road, her eyes widened in horror.

"Alex watch out!" she yelled. I snapped my head forward to see a figure standing in front of us. I slammed my foot down on the break as Niki leaned forward from the sudden stop. Coming to a quick stop, we fell silent. I sat there breathing hard, my pulse racing as I stared at the person standing calmly in front of my car, only a few inches from the hood. A little bit closer and we would have hit them. My anger rose as soon as I saw the figures face. Her dark orange eyes narrowed as a smirk formed across her face.

"Oh, it's Summer." Niki said calmly. I gripped the steering wheel in anger. Slowly reaching to my left, I rolled down my window.

"Hey, Ax." Summer called with her normal Monday grin.

"Its Alex!" I corrected, sticking my head out the window. "And get out of the way! What do you think you were doing anyway, standing in the middle of the road. It's dangerous! I could of killed you!" I screamed at her, waving my fist angrily. Summer smirked, obviously amused.

"You stopped though." she shrugged.

"I almost didn't! Move, you're blocking the entrance to the student parking!" I ordered.

"The key word is, you 'did'." Summer chuckled, stepping to the side of the car to let me pass. I pressed the gas and slowly made out way into the student parking section. Heading straight into my spot I sighed. Turning off the car, Niki and I hopped out.

"Hey Summer!" Niki called to her. Summer gave her a small wave. I soon followed, glaring at Summer with all my hate.

"What's with the get up?' I hissed darkly as I folded my arms. She blinked and looked down at her cloths. At first, it was her hair that really surprised me. Usually it was flat and you could barley see any color through the white streaks. Today though, it was curled around the bottom and the lighting actually made her hair look similar to the color of silver. I was always jealous of Summer's hair. I mean, it wasn't like an old person kind of grey, it was a sparkling, pretty sort of grey. Plus with her unusual orange eyes, it made a nice match. Slowly looking down at her outfit, I saw she had knee high boots that had sparks along the side, and a dark black T-shirt that said, _"I did it" _

"Did what exactly?" Niki questioned, knowing Summer only wore shirts like that for a reason. Summer grinned.

"You'll find out around 4th period." Niki and me glanced at each other then back at the grinning Idiot in front of us.

"I'm going to assume it was something, 'eco-friendly'?" I asked slowly.

Pausing to pout at me, Summer grumbled, "Curse you and your knowing ways." With that, she ran ahead of us, towards the school. "I'll never speak with you again Alix! You ruined my fun."

"She says that every morning though." Niki sighed.

"I know." I nodded, grimacing as we followed after her.

**~~~~Second Period~~~~~ **

I tapped my finger impatiently on my desk. Whatever Summer had planned for the day, I hoped it wasn't to drastic. This wouldn't be the first time though she has pulled off some crazy stunt. A few weeks ago, she had brought in seventeen snakes to show her English class. Once the teacher had demanded for her to take them out of the classroom, she began to cry saying "_You snake hater_!" then threw the box of snakes at the teacher. Luckily the snakes were actually very friendly and weren't poisonous, though it still did cause the whole class to run out of the room in a panic. I looked up when I heard a small ring, indicating announcements.

_"Attention students, for all those with the class in the biology room of 202 some time today, we ask that you instead go to room 123. It appears frogs have been released in that room, and will be closed until animal control arrives. We ask that you please continue your regular day_."

I mentally groaned and slowly looked over my shoulder to see Summer smirking triumphantly out the window. "Long live the froggies." she mouthed.

~~~~~~Home~~~~

After arriving at home alone, I slowly walked up to the porch. It was Monday after all. I usually only saw Niki in the mornings, or on Sunday anyway. Niki was that sort of "have to do everything" sort of girl. So she was busy with clubs, theater, and other stuff. I was more of a 'one thing at a time person'. I didn't want to be tied down to anything, at least not yet.

As I opened the door I felt the sudden feeling of loneliness. I was alone again. I always was, ever since I was little. I shook the thought out of my head. So what if I was alone? I had dealt with it all my life. With my parents never being around, off where ever in the world, and Niki so busy, I was often left home alone. Well… not completely alone.

"Oh Julie!' I called through the house, my voice echoing through the halls and rooms. (I always hated that) In less then a minute a small ball of fuzz came bounding towards me.

Julie, my sweet little kitten. She was only a couple months old, and I found her on the streets a couple weeks ago. But ever since, we've been great. She helps me feel not so lonely anymore.

I smiled as Julie rubbed against my ankles. I slowly bent down and scooped up the small white kitten. "Hello Julieeee." I said making my voice sound deep. Julie meowed back at me, blinking her large blue eyes. I grinned and placed her back on the floor. "Come on Julie." I said calling her into the kitchen. She stumbled after me, her paws slipping on the wooden floor. After placing a bowl of milk on the floor and glanced at the clock. It was already 7:00 pm. I probably shouldn't have taken that stop at the manga store. As Julie drank her milk, I snuck out into the back yard.

The sun had set and the stars were starting to appear. I smiled, but gasped when I saw a shooting star. I quickly put my hands together and made a wish. Making wishes were always fun, even if they never came true. Wishes gave you hope and dreams for the future.

_Dear shooting star, please… please, I don't want to be alone anymore. If you can hear my pleas, I'd like to have someone… anyone… to help me not feel so lonely anymore_.

I opened my eyes and lowered my hands. _What was I doing? Making a wish on a star?_ That's for fairytales and fanfics. Still though, I felt a little bit better. I turned around and walked back inside to see Julie staring back at me, her small tail waving back and forth behind her. "We're you waiting for me?' I asked, kneeling down to her. Julie meowed. I smiled and scooped her up. "Are you lonely too, Julie?" I asked, tilted my head as I lifted up up to stare into her eyes. When I got no reply, I yawed. "I don't know about you Julie, but I'm tired." I yawned as I started to climb the stairs for a good night's rest.

~~~Later that night~~~~

_Rustle... rustle_.

My eyes slowly opened when I felt something move next to me. I glanced at my new clock, which I bought on the way home, to see it was about a minute till midnight. I blinked and turned over to look at who ever was moving. At first I had assumed it to be Julie…. But oh was I wrong. The form was much bigger, human like. I froze.

_S-Someone is in my bed!_

I bit my tongue to stop from screaming. What if it was a thief, or a murderer? I slowly turned back over and reached for my hockey stick. (Hockey player) Slowly sitting up, I quietly lifted up the stick. I couldn't see the face of the form, but I could tell he/she had really spiky hair, because it stuck out in large spikes. I lifted the stick over my head with one hand I was ready to attack.

I yelped when the figure suddenly turned over, their hand falling on top of my left, which was resting on the bed. "AHHH!" I screamed, panicking. The figure bolted awake… just to get whacked on top of the head. Scrambling off the bed, I backed up towards the wall, holding my stick out towards the figure, who was currently holding their head in utter pain.

"Alex what's wrong!" Niki demanded bursting into the room and flipping on the light switch. She froze at the sight in front of her. There was me with my hockey stick, held high over my head for another attack, while there was the black form across from me holding its head in pain. "Wha- who the hell is that?" Niki sputtered pointing to the form.

At this point, I could see the person was male, probably at least a little taller then me. "I don't know. I woke up and there he was in my bed!" I squeaked, my voice I little high pitched from my panic. Niki, unable to come to words, slowly approached the bed. Realizing the man had gone silent, she looked at me.

"Is he dead?' she asked? I slowly approached my bed, stepping to Niki's side. I slowly stuck out my stick and poked the guy in the shoulder, causing him to hiss a few words under his breath.

"No he's fine." I said blankly, realizing the man had woken up from his momentary unconsciousness.

"Well… what do we do?" Niki inquired.

"Why the hell are you asking me?" I demanded.

"Because you're the oldest!" Niki replied.

"That doesn't mean I know what to do in this situation!' I yelled, glaring at her.

"Well don't look at me! I'm just a minor!"

"That doesn't change anything! You're sixteen!" I hissed, poking her in the shoulder with my stick. Swatting the stick away, Niki folded her arms. Glancing at the guy, she scowled.

"We call the police." she nodded.

"Oh, that's actually pretty smart." I nodded blankly.

"No duh!" Niki snapped. "Uhh." The guy moaned slowly beginning to sit up. Niki and me froze.

"What the hell?' he muttered rubbing his head as he sat towards the wall. I held the stick up for protection. The guy's back was to us, so I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he had a leather jacket on with a fuzzy white hood. He wore dark black pants and…. Rocket… shoes?

"W-Who are you?' I stuttered, trying to keep my voice calm. Niki glared at me, preparing to smack me for letting our presences be known. The figure whipped around to stare at us. His amber eyes glanced back from Niki to me. My eyes widened at bit at the sight of his spiky black hair that had a red strip leading down the center of his head. I tilted my head. He looked familiar for some reason. Had I meet him somewhere before?

"Who are you?' he demanded, jumping to his feet.

"I believe we asked you first." Niki said quickly before hiding behind my back. I glared at her over my shoulder. The character folded his arms, scowling in annoyance.

"Why should I tell you my name?" he grumbled.

"Cause... you're in our house right now when you really shouldn't be." I pointed out softly. The boy blinked, slowly realizing where he was. Taking in his surrondings, he was silent. Realizing that he was in another person's house, he glared at us.

"What am I doing here?" he growled.

"We want to know the same thing!" Niki and me screamed.

"I woke up and you were in my bed, so I'll ask you once more. Who are you and what are you doing in my house!" I snapped, holding my stick up. The boy scowled at the loudness of my voice.

"My name is Shadow the Hedgehog." He answered. The room fell silent.

"Huh?" was all Niki and me could say.

**And there we go. The end of chapter 1! I hoped you all enjoyed it, and please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Muhahaha my second chapter! Thanks for all of those who reviewed, and I hope you do the same for this chapter.**

**Note: I also re-wrote this chapter, as I will every chapter. ^_^  
**

_"Huh?" was all Niki and me could say._

This guy must've been nuts! I wouldn't be surprised given the fact how hard I hit him.

"Shadow the hedgehog." The boy repeated starting to get annoyed.

"Okay, it's one thing to sneak into our house, it's another to lie about who you are!' Niki yelled over my shoulder before instantly ducking back down.  
"It's not a lie." The boy hissed, stepping towards us.

" AH! Stay away." I threatened, holding my stick up once more. The boy, realizing we saw him as a threat, stepped back. I nodded in approval at him. "Now, I don't know why you're here 'Shadow', but you're not allowed to move from that spot." My voice wavered a bit out of fear. I really had to learn how to stay calm more.

The so called 'Shadow' smirked, obviously amused. "I am the strongest being alive, and you're saying I'm not allowed to move? What are you going to do, hit me with that little stick of yours?" he chuckled.  
"She's done it before." Niki pointed out.  
"And I'll do it again." I hissed. Shadow shrugged, suddenly growing bored of the topic.

"Just tell me where I am and I will leave you in peace." He announced. Niki and me blinked in surprise. He seriously didn't know where he was?

Glancing at my sister, she shrugged, not sure what to do.

"Oh well..." I trailed off as I made eye contact with 'Shadow'.

The color of his eyes, they were so familiar.. They were like Ambers. Perfectly orbed Ambers that matched with his hair perfectly. I remember seeing those eyes so many times before. They were Shadow the Hedgehog's eyes. That can't be possible though.

For one thing, Shadow isn't real, he's a cartoon. Shadow also isn't human, as is name Shadow the "Hedgehog' clearly stats.

Maybe I hit him too hard? It was very likely that I might of caused some brain damage when I hit the guy off my bed.

"Does your head hurt?" I asked gently, sort of feeling bad for hitting the guy. He may of been a robbing theif, but he seemed as confused as we were.

'Shadow' glanced at me, realizing what I meant. Slowly reaching up to rub his head, he shrugged. "It's fine." He said quickly, looking right into my eyes. Something flickered in his eyes, but he quickly hide it.

"What are you doing?" Niki hissed in my ear. "He just broke into our house."

"Yeah but… how did he get into my bed without me noticing?" I said in a hush tone as 'Shadow' ran his fingers through his hair.

He froze. 'Shadow' slowly looked at his hand and blinked. It was a human hand. He blinked again, this time a little more panicked.

"Where's a mirror?" he snapped.  
"Huh?' I looked back at him.

"A mirror." He repeated, this time a little more harshly.

I stared at him, deciding to be a little kind. "In there.' I announced, pointing to the bathroom across from my room. In a flash he was passed us and in the bathroom.

Niki and me looked at each other in surprise. "He couldn't be." I mumbled before I followed him. Niki followed closely behind me as we stepped into the bathroom, where 'Shadow' was closely examining his face.

Now that I could actually see him, I examined him more closely. He was probably 18 or so. Around 6,1.

Confusion and fear filled his Amber eyes as he stared at himself.  
"What the hell did you do to me!" he snapped turning towards Niki and me. We flinched.  
"W-We didn't do anything, I just woke up and you were there." I stuttered, gripping my hockey stick tight.

Not seeming to by our excuse, he stormed near us. "Then why am I here, why am I like this?" He hissed angrily, causing Niki and me to back out of the bathroom.

"I-I don't know." I stuttered, pushing Niki behind me. I held my stick up with my shacking hand, trying to keep it steady.

"I don't believe you." he growled, reaching out for me. I squeaked, slapping his hand away with my stick.  
"I... I don't know!" I screamed, making Niki and him jump in surprise. "A-All I know is that I went to bed and when I woke up, you were there. I'm sorry I can't answer any questions you have, because I can barely answer any of my own. So, just stop freaking us out!"

The hallway fell silent. Niki stared at me over my shoulder, completely shocked. Shadow's expression was the same. Slowly lowering his hand, his looked away from us.

"Okay." he said slowly, for the time being believing our story. Relief filled Niki and my eyes. Slowly lowering the stick, I smiled softly.

Maybe this was really Shadow? The way he reacted right now was enough to convince me oddly enough. It still didn't make any sense though. This couldn't be Shadow, because Shadow was from a game/cartoon. Yet here he was, standing in front of me!  
I narrowed my eyes at the thought. If this was the real Shadow, how would we be able to tell completely? He could be tricking us, waiting for us to turn our backs on him. People were pretty messed up in this world, so it could happen.  
"O-Okay... Shadow." I said slowly. "You can't be real." I announced.

Shadow turned to me, folding his arms. "Why is that?" he scowled.

"You're not real." I answered. "You're from a video game."

"And cartoon." Niki added from behind me. I nodded.

Shadow raised his eyebrow at us, confused. "Video game?" he questioned.

I nodded. "Come with me." I said slowly, backing up against the wall so I could slide past him, towards my room. Niki quickly followed. Shadow, deciding to trust us for the moment, followed.

When we entered my room, I handed Niki my stick. She grabbed it, and held it threateningly towards Shadow as I began to rummage through my games and movies.

"I wont hurt you." Shadow scowled, clearly annoyed on how distrustful we were.

"Counting on how you were about to attack us in the hall, I can't believe you." Niki pointed out. Shadow flinched a bit, but didn't disagree.

"Found it." I announced, pulling out Sonic X, and a few other Sonic related games and movies. "This is why you can't be real." I said over my shoulder as I rose to my feet, holding out the cases. Shadow slowly approached me, staring down at the cases.

His eyes widened in shock at the pictures. "You've been watching me?" he growled.

Niki sighed. "No moron. Those were made by different companies, we just bought them. They are for children's entertainment. Alex, put one in." Niki suggested, holding the stick towards Shadow. I nodded, and quickly rushed to my GameCube. I grabbed the **Shadow the Hedgehog **game, and put it in.

"You're name is Alex?' Shadow asked as he stared down at me, glancing with mild interest towards my GameCube. I stiffened a bit, nodding.

"Y-Yeah." I muttered.

"What about you." Shadow motioned towards Niki, who jumped in surprise.  
"Oh, m-me? I-I'm Niki! Nikolet KuroBara!" Niki fumbled, slowly lowering the stick. "Just call me Niki though, cause Nikolet is so formal." Niki paused, realizing she had let her guard down. Snapping back to attention, Niki held the stick towards Shadow once more.

Shadow rolled his eyes, still seeing no threat in the measly stick.

Once the TV was turned on, Shadow paused to stare at the screen. When the game had loaded, Shadow blinked at the beginning main Title. "That's me." he blinked, narrowing his eyes at us.

"Here." I said, handing him the controller. He stared at it confused, and I realized he had probably never played a game before."Never mind, I'll play." I said, pressing the A button. Shadow slowly looked back up at the screen, staring in shock.

Niki, seeing the shock in his eyes, lowered the stick. "It can't be..." she murmured.

As the beginning cut scene began, Shadow slowly sat down next to me. Glancing at him nervously, I realized... this could be the real Shadow. They way he stared at the screen, with such confusion and shock, it was like he didn't even know who he was anymore.

Also, the voice actor of 'Shadow the Hedgehog' in this game, had the exact same voice as the Shadow right next to me.

"So... You're saying, I'm not real." he asked slowly, not looking away from the screen. Knowing he had seen enough, I paused the game.

"To be honest, I would answer 'yes', but right now, I'm so sure." I admitted softly.

After that, I showed him every Videogame, TV show, and poster I had. I even showed him a few of my plushies, which he commented on. "That weird that you have dolls of me."

I think I was as red as a tomato at that moment, but I digress.

Within a few hours, we had finished with almost everything.

"I've seen enough." Shadow suddenly announced. We flinched, staring at him. We had dropped the stick a long time ago, but didn't feel the need to grab it now. After a short pause, Shadow continued. "I don't know if what you are showing me is true, and it doesn't explain why I am here or why I look like... this." Shadow motioned towards his human form. "I feel like, I can trust you though." Niki and me grinned widely. "That doesn't mean I will turn my back to you two. This whole thing is suspicious, so I'm not letting you two out of my sight." Shadow hissed quickly.

We both nodded in understandment.

"Fine with us." Niki shrugged. "It's just..." Niki sniffed. "So cool to meet you!" she squealed, lunging for Shadow. I quickly held her back when Shadow jumped into a fighting position.

"You'll have to forgive her, she's a fangirl." I laughed nervously.

"You have no room to talk Alexandra, you're a fan girl too." Niki pouted. I glared at her.

"You're full name is Alexandra?" Shadow inquired. I flinched, glaring at Niki furiously for revealing my full name.  
"Y-Yeah. I don't use it often though, So just call me Alex." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

"Alexandra." Shadow repeated. "Sounds fine to me. Why not keep it?"

I paused. "Eh... well... It's long and complicated, and no one ever remembers it, so it's easier for everyone to just call me Alex." I shrugged.

Shadow frowned nodding. I frowned back at him, slowly looking past him towards my clock.

_3:15_

"Oh geez, it's late." I gasped, pointing to the clock. Niki gasped.

"I have my track meeting tomorrow!" she cried, jumping towards the door. When she left, I looked towards Shadow, who stared back at me.

_What should I do? I can't just kick him out! There is no way he has a place to stay, and will probably end up sleeping in a tree if I let him go. He could stay here. We have plenty of room. What if mom and dad came home though? That probably wont happen any time soon, but still. I would need a story for them. _

I rubbed my eyes when they suddenly blurred with exhaustion.

_I'm too tired to think of that right now though. One night is fine... maybe he can stay more. _

"Shadow." I said, smiled. Suddenly feeling nervous, I ran my finger through my hair. "If you want, you can stay here tonight." I announced.

Shadow, thinking over the offer carefully, frowned.

"Since you probably don't have a place to stay tonight." I added quickly. Realizing I was correct, Shadow nodded.  
"If you insist."

I grinned, oddly enough, thrilled that he would be staying. "H-Here." I stuttered quickly, leading him out the door. "You can stay in the guest room. Niki!" I called.

"Yeah?" she said, from her room.

"Shadow is staying here." I announced.

"Wahoo!" came a cheer before silence. I chuckled a bit as we entered the guest room.

It wasn't big and just had a closet, single bed, and a table. Shadow stared around for a moment before he walked towards the bed and sat down.

"Well um… good night. Come get me if you need anything. T-There are spare blankets and pillows in the closet." I said awkwardly as I started to close the door.

"Alexandra." he said. I froze, my hand coming to a stop just enough for Shadow to see half of my face from the door.. "Thanks."

I probably looked like a tomato then. "N-No problem." I stuttered as I closed the door. I placed a hand on my heart as I walked down the hall.  
"You like him." Niki said with a sly smirk as I passed her room. I stiffened and looked at her. She was laying down in her bed, eyes closed, innocently 'asleep'.  
"I d-do not." I stuttered my face red. Niki's smirk widened from her slumber. I glared at her.

"Good night." I hissed before I walked into my room. Before I could close the door I heard Niki hushed voice from the room next to me. 'Do you think the others might be here too?"

"Others?" I asked silently.

"You know, Sonic, Tails… and knuckles." Niki said, excitement clearly in her voice. Niki had always been a Knuckles fan, and for her to have a slight chance at meeting her hero was a dream come true to her.

I shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm betting we'll find out soon." I said before I closed the door. My only question was.

_If they are here, and real for that matter, how did they get here?_

**And here we go. The end of the chapter. And for all those who didn't know Alex's last name KuroBara means "Black Rose". I hope you all review and I will up-date soon**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3! Again, this chapter is re-written.  
**

You want to know the worst part about nightmares?

It's that very second that you think "_This can't be real_', but you're too scared to open your eyes and find out. Because you know if you do, there's that small chance that the nightmare may be real.

I get that feeling, a lot. Lately though, that feeling is becoming less terrifying.

The next day after Shadow appeared, things were a little, strange. The atmosphere of the house was different then usual, and we had to pull out an extra chair to the table for breakfast.

That very morning though, I spent about 30 minutes just staring at Shadow. I know it sounds weird, but I'm not a stalker I swear. Hey, you try finding a guy from a cartoon in your bed and try _not_ to stare at him.

"Hey." Shadow said, snapping me out of my daze.  
"Huh?" I asked slowly, shacking my head.

"You dazed out." Shadow replied calmly as he folded his arms and leaned back on his chair.

"She does that a lot." Niki sighed as she walked behind Shadow with a plate with pancakes.  
"Here. I wasn't sure if you'd like eggs, so I made you pancakes. Though... I guess pancakes are made with eggs." Niki said as she placed the plate and fork in front of Shadow. Shadow blinked at the pancakes. "I have syrup if you want some." Niki said as she placed the bottle next to the plate.

Shadow blinked again, staring at the plate in silence. Now that I thought about it, I had never seen Shadow eat before.

He just never seemed to need to in the games and cartoons.

"You eat it." I stated breaking through the silence barrier. _Does he even know how to eat? _

"Oh." Shadow said blankly as he picked up the fork. Shadow seemed to freeze in place, his fork hovering over the pancakes.

_He must think we poisoned it or something. That, or he has no idea how to eat it. _

I sighed and stood up, leaning over the table I took my fork and swatted his hand away as Niki poured the syrup on the pancakes. Grabbing a piece of the pancake, I stuck it in my mouth.

_Now he can't think it's poisonous. _

Shadow stared at me, waiting for me to keel over and die.

"It's not poisonous." I snapped, reading his thoughts.

"Oh, I just thought he didn't know how to eat." Niki blinked, sitting down to my left. Shadow realized he was wrong, and grabbed a piece of his pancakes. Stuffing the fork in his mouth, Shadow chewed silently.

I stared in silence as I watched Shadow's jaw move up and down. It was oddly fascinating to watch his jaw in motion. Niki and me waited patently as Shadow chewed on the pancakes.

"Well?" Niki asked?

Shadow was silent for what seemed like forever. "It's okay." He said and continued eating.

Feeling accomplished, Niki jumped up from his chair. She glanced at the clock and sighed. "I have to get going." She announced  
"Where?" Shadow asked, only glancing up from his pancakes for a second.

"I have a Track meet today.' Niki said before she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Niki hesitated, staring at the door then back at us.

"Don't worry." I assured her. "I'll make sure he doesn't destroy the house." I grinned, making my younger sister laugh as she walked passed me.  
"I'll be back at 3:00." Niki said before she closed the door. Shadow and me were silent as we listened for Niki's car backing out of the driveway and down the road.

Leaving me alone… with Shadow.

_Oh great, I'm nervous again. _

"S-So, would you like more pancakes?" I asked glancing at Shadow's plate to see he had finished.

Shadow shook his head saying, "No.". I nodded awkwardly.

It was odd. I was usually alone on Saturdays. Summer was off doing who knows what with her little "Group" and Niki was gone with her activities. Leaving me alone till 2:00 which is when I usually had Hockey.  
Today though, I'm with Shadow, for four hours.

_What do I do! What can I do? _

"Alexandra." Shadow said interrupting my panic attack.

I flinched. _There he goes again. Calling me by my full name._

"What's this?" he asked looking at a small ball of white fur rubbing on his leg. I tilted my head, confused by his question. Looking under the table, I giggled.

"That's Julie." I announced. Shadow raised an eyebrow at the cat in confusion.

I knelt towards the ground and picked up the little kitten. "Say hi to Shadow Julie." I said as I held her up to Shadow. Shadow blinked at the cat and she meowed back at him. "Go ahead, you can pet her if you want." I said with a smile. Shadow glanced at me then back at the cat.

He slowly reached out his gloved hand to pet Julie behind the ear. She purred in delight as Shadow scratched lightly behind her left ear.

_I wonder if this was his first time petting a cat._ I couldn't really tell since Shadow had a blank face.

"Isn't she cute?" I asked as I hugged the small kitten. Julie meowed as she rubbed her head against my cheek. Shadow didn't reply.

"Here." I said as I placed the cat on his lap. Shadow stiffened, probably not sure how to react.

He sat there in silence as Julie laid down on his lap. I smiled then took Shadow's plate.  
"Be right back." I said as I left the room to put the plate in the sink. When I came back I saw Shadow still sitting at the table, staring down at Julie.

"What do we do now?" Shadow asked still staring at Julie.  
"Huh?" I asked confused.

"What do we do now?" Shadow asked again. "How do I get back to normal?"

"I…" how was I suppose to answer to that? I don't even know how he got in my bed.

"I should just leave. I've troubled you enough." Shadow said picking Julie up and placing her on the floor.  
"Wait don't go." I called, though it sounded more like a plea. Shadow stopped to look at me. "I-I mean. You need somewhere to stay right? So you can just stay here. I mean, at least for a while. You can't just sleep on the streets. And I don't really mind having you here." Great now I'm babbling. He probably thinks I'm a freak. "A-And I know Niki and I may not be great help to you, but we still want to help you." I continued.

Shadow turned around and walked up to me.

"GKk." I stuttered when Shadow flicked me one the forehead.  
"You talk too much." He sighed.

As Shadow walked passed my, I rubbed my forehead, which now had a red dot on it. "Hey!" I yelled at him. "What was that for?"

"To get you to stop babbling." Shadow replied leaning against the wall.  
I frowned, slowly looking back at my feet. "So… you'll stay?" I asked? Shadow nodded slowly. I smiled.

_Yes! He would stay. What to do know? Still though, what would we do now?_

Realizing Shadow was staring at me, I quickly walked into the front room. Having nothing better to do, he followed. I quickly grabbed the remote, and pointed it at the TV. Pressing the 'ON' switch, the TV came to life.  
"What are you doing?" Shadow asked?

"Checking the news." I said calmly as I sat down on the couch. Shadow stood next to me his arms crossed. "You can sit down." I announced. Shadow looked at me then back at the TV screen. "Or not." I mumbled.

After a few minutes, I realized nothing interesting was going on today. "Hey Shadow." I glanced at him.

Looking towards me, Shadow blinked. "What?" he asked.

"I'm sorry." I whispered softly.

Confused by my statement, Shadow turned to face me. "For what?" he questioned.

"I-I... I'm sorry I can't be much help to you. I'm also sorry you have to go through all of this. It must be hard... coming to a strange world and becoming a whole different species." I explained, turning down the volume and placing the remote on the couch beside me.

Shadow was silent, staring a head blankly. After a few moments of silence, Shadow spoke. "You have to go through this too, don't you?"

"Huh?" I looked up at him.

"I mean, you're probably as confused as I am. You also have to take the time to give me a place to stay and food to eat. It's hard for you too, isn't it?" Shadow replied.

"W-What? No! Not at all!" I stammered quickly. "I actually... I'm actually very happy you're here. I've always wanted to meet you honestly, and it's nice not..." I trailed off.

"Not?" Shadow

"Not... being alone." I whispered softly. Shadow looked back at me, surprised by my answer.

"You're alone?" he asked.  
"N-Not exactly, no. I-I mean, I guess I'm alone a lot. With Niki always gone, my parents away on constant business trips, and my friends always off doing who knows what... I guess you could just say, I'm a little lonely." I stiffened at Shadow's intense stare. "I-I'm okay though. I have Julie, you know?" I gave him a weak smile.

_I have no right to complain about being alone. Shadow is always alone, except of course when he's with Rogue. So suck it up Alexandra, and stay strong._

Gulping down my nervousness, I grinned at Shadow. "Being alone, isn't always that bad though. I mean, I have plenty of time to think. Though, I probably think a little too much." I shrugged.

Shadow was silence. It honestly was starting to creep me out at how silent he was. Shadow slowly sat down on the couch, staring ahead.

"Shadow?" I asked, glancing at him.

"Does your sister know you will feel lonely?" Shadow asked.

"Eh? Ah, well, no I guess. I-It's okay though. I shouldn't complain." I laughed nervously, holding up my hands.

"It's okay." Shadow announced. "It's okay to admit you're lonely." Shadow said softly. Slowly lowering my hands, I stared at Shadow in surprise.

"I-I..." I couldn't speak. Reluctantly looking away, I frowned. "Really?" I asked. Shadow nodded meekly. "Then..." I hesitated. "Are you lonely Shadow?"

Shadow visible flinched. "I prefer to be alone."he muttered. I nodded, willing to leave the subject at that. Deciding to distract myself with the TV, I looked back up at the screen. Realizing the volume was done, I reached for the remote.

My eyes were locked on the screen as I pressed the Volume button. There was a reporter, standing in front a large 5 storey building just on the other side of town. She was currently speak to a police man, who was pale with panic.

"Hmm?" I blinked as the news reporter held the microphone up to a cop.

_"We're not sure how he ended up there, all we know is that he refuses to come down." The cop said, pulling at his tie nervously. _

_"Have you discovered the boys identity yet?" she asked. _

_"No, not yet. We are not sure of the reason for him being up there, but we can only assume the worst." With that, the cop left to return to his post. _

_Turning back to the camera, the Lady frowned. "For those just joining in, we have word that a young teenage boy was spotted at the top of the Hanshemster Hotel and has refused to come down. Eye witnesses say that this boy had climbed up to the top of the building, and is standing on the railing of the building. The identity of this boy is unknown as the police desperately try to reach out to the boy, so that he may return to his family."_

I blinked when the camera zoomed in on the Hanshemster Hotel. There were probably three or four cop cars and 2 fire trucks surrounding the building. When the camera zoomed to the top of the building I blinked at what I saw.  
The shot was a little blurred from the angle, and you could barely see the boys face. He had long, shoulder length red hair and by what I could tell, violet eyes.

He had dark black pants and a red leather jacket zipped up to his neck and had a white crescent on it. His arms were crossed, only revealing the tips of his white gloves, which were spiked on the knuckles.

"...Shadow." I said slowly.

Shadow stared at the screen intently. "It's him." he announced. I looked towards the human hedgehog, confused.

"Who?"

"That red idiot. The Echidna."

"E...chidna. Y-You don't mean... You can't mean!" I gasped, covering my mouth. "H-How can you tell?"

"I just can." Shadow shrugged.

"You mean that's... that's..." I stammered, pointing a finger at the screen.

"Knuckles the Echidna."

**And we end here! I hoped you all enjoyed it, and please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, this chapter was also re-written, if you haven't figured that out yet.  
**

I scrambled for the home phone and dialed Niki's number as fast as possible. "Pick up, pick up, pick up." I repeated my panicked side starting to show again. Shadow stared at me from his spot on the couch, calmly folding his arms.

"Hello?" Niki's voice rang like church bells in my ear.  
"Niki! Knuckles! NEWS!" I screamed into the phone.  
"Gack!" Niki gasped from the suddenly screaming. "Calm down! What about Knuckles?" Niki asked? She hadn't been gone more then 10 minutes and I call screaming random crap.

"He's on the news!" I announced. "I-I mean, I think he's him. He could be some random kid, but Shadow says it's him. So I'm going to believe Shadow's word, so get home quick!" I babbled.  
"What?" Niki asked confused. "I'm almost to my Track Meet though."

"Forget the stupid Track Meet. This is more important! Any fangirl could only dream of this happening to them, but it's happening to us. So get your butt over here before I burn your room in fire and ash!"

"...Geez, did you take your coffee today?" Niki asked softly.  
"No, no I didn't, and it's a good thing I didn't. Now get home." I snapped.

Niki sighed. "Okay, I'll be home in 10 minutes, is Shadow still there?" Niki asked?

"Yeah." I said as I glanced at Shadow, whose eyes were fixed on the screen. "Why do you ask?"  
"Oh, I just thought he would have left by now. Knowing him he would usually be long gone."

_She was right. He would be gone by now. So then… why wasn't he? He barley even knew Niki and me, so I doubted he trusted us. And with his past he probably didn't make friends often. So then why? What reason kept him here?_

"I'm warning you though Alex. This better be good. We were suppose to get strawberries and toast today as a reward for our hard work. If I miss that in vain, someone, preferable you, is going to die." Niki hissed.  
"What sort of reward is strawberries and toast?" I questioned.

"A normal one!" Niki snapped before hanging up. Hanging the phone back up on the wall, I walked back into the living room.

"That your sister?" Shadow asked?

"Yes." I answered.

_Shadow had such little reason to trust us. I couldn't make that line thinner. I had to act normal, or he might go away_.

"S-So... what do we do?" I asked nervously. _If that was Knuckles, he was probably just as confused as we were. So we couldn't just leave him. _

Shadow scowled. "It's none of my concern."

"B-But, he needs help." I argued. "We..." I hesitated. "We tried our best to help you when we first found you. Granted, there still isn't much we can do for you, but we at least tried. So please, we have to help Knuckles too." I pleaded.

Shadow glanced at me. "Then what do you suggest we do?  
I stiffened. "W-Well we could… bring him… here." I said slowly. "Just so he can calm down and get us to everything." I added quickly.

Shadow looked at me as if in deep thought. It seemed as if hours had passed before he replied.

"I suppose so." He said with a nod. My face brightened.

_To be in the same room as Shadow and Knuckles. That's every fan girls dream! Not to mention, Niki's and mine._

"Question is, how do we get him here?" I slouched back into the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "They probably wouldn't believe us if we told them we were his family. Even if they did though, they would ask a lot of questions and go through our back ground. They would realize quickly we weren't related." I rubbed my chin.

_How were we going to do this? Maybe... Maybe Shadow could us his speed to get him?_

"I suppose... Nah." Shadow wouldn't want to do it. It would be asking a whole lot of him anyway.

"What?" Shadow urged me on.

"You could... use your speed." I suggested softly. "I mean, you could go and grab him really quick. People would probably panic that he suddenly disappeared, but..." I trailed off.

"Worth a try." Shadow said dryly. I instantly smiled, nodding. I jumped a bit when the door suddenly swung open. Niki marched in, looking pissed.

"Okay, what is it?" She demanded, folding her arms.

"Knuckles the Echidna." I answered, pointing to the screen. Slowly approaching the living room, Niki turned towards the screen. Her eyes widened a bit.

"I see a boy." she admitted.

"Knuckles the Echidna." I grinned.  
"What?" Niki snapped her attention back to me.

"Shadow says that's Knuckles the Echidna." I replied.

"H... Wha- How do you know?" Niki squeaked, her eyes trailing to Shadow.  
"Intuition." he shrugged.  
"T-Thats not enough though." Niki argued.

"His cloths are a pretty big clue." I pointed out. Niki turned back at to the screen, glaring intently at it.  
"I... I suppose." she muttered, excitement rising in her voice.

"Anyway." I said changing the subject. "We've made a plan!" I exclaimed.

"And that would be?" Niki looked over her shoulder at me.

"Okay, so Shadow will use his speed to go up the side of the building, grab Knuckles, then bring him back here." I announced.

Niki stared at me, thinking of the plan. "People will panic when he suddenly disappears." she remarked.

"I'm not going to bother to think that far ahead." I responded.

"This will probably blow up in our faces later." Niki added.  
"Not if Shadow runs _really _fast." I grinned.

Niki gulped a bit. "Okay so... y-you mean Knuckles is coming… here?" Niki asked her voice slightly cracking.

"Yeah." Shadow said as he raised his eyebrow at Niki. Niki's eyes widened.  
"Excuse me." She said before she rushed out of the room. After a short pause you could hear a high pitch squeal coming from the kitchen.  
"Oh my gosh!" Niki cried.

"Fangirl." I sighed.

Shadow was silent. His ears ringing from the squeal. Turning to him, a smiled.  
"Well I guess... thats your cue to go?" I shrugged. Shadow nodded, rising to his feet. "Shadow, thanks again." I said quickly.

Shadow blinked before he disappeared in a blur of black and red.

_That was so cool._

**And the end of chapter 4! I hope you all liked it. Please review!**

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	5. Chapter 5

**My new chapter! Hurray!**

"I'm still going to question why I have to do this." Toby sighed, typing vigorously into his computer.

"Please Toby. I just need this done. I promise, I'll make you chocolate cake every week for the nest 5 months." I promised. Toby smirked, continuing his work.

"Well, it's not very easy to make fake identities. Not to mention arranging for these people to go to school as 'foreign exchange students'." Toby nodded.

"I know. Thank you though." I said softly

Toby Rena was my friends name. He was my neighbor from down the street. I had known Toby for years, mainly due to how much he enjoyed the chocolate cake I made ever once and a while.

Toby was 23 years old, and was a genius when it came to computers, and the software. At the moment, he was making fake identities for the three super powered teens right up stairs.

"You know, it's pretty weird that three guys, that you barely even know, will be living with you now." Toby commented over his shoulder, staring at me."People might get the wrong idea."

I flinched at his gaze. "They are not like that, and I do know them, just so you now. I've known them for a long time. They are nice boys, they wont hurt us." I said with confidence.

"If you say so." Toby shrugged. "Why are they staying with you anyway, don't they have their own place?"

"No, not really." I said, leaning back on my chair. "Besides, I got the okay from my parents. They think they are staying because I signed up for the 'foreign exchange' student plan." I explained.  
"Yet, they aren't foreign exchange students. They are guys you found on the street."

_Not exactly._

"Just finish up with their ID's and stop asking so many questions." I mumbled, folding my arms. As I listened to Toby's fingers move around on the key board, my mind wandered to two days ago.

I grinned at the opportunity for a flash back.

**-Saturday Afternoon-**

A few minutes after Shadow left, Niki came to sit next to me on the couch. We were silent as we stared at the TV, waiting for the boy on the roof to suddenly disappear.

"You told Shadow where the building was, right?" Niki asked, her eyes fixated on the screen.

I visible flinched. "Slipped my mind." I admitted.

"This may take a while then." Niki sighed.

"Shadow is fast. Even if he doesn't know where it is, he'll find it soon enough." I pouted at her. Just as I said that, the people on the screen gasped.

"_The boy on the building has suddenly disappeared!" the news lady reported, looking as shocked as everyone else_

"Called it!" I laughed. Niki punched my in the shoulder, making me whine. "Shadow should know the way back."

"Hopefully." Niki nodded. After a few seconds of silence you could see a blur of Red and black appear.

"Gah!' one yelled as he was thrown to the floor by Shadow.

"Got him." Shadow announced, folding his arms.  
"Way to go Shadow!" I cheered, jumping to my feet.

The boy on the ground muttered something under his breath before he stumbled to his feet. Blinked a bit, he stared at us.  
"Who are you! What's going on?" he demanded.

"Knuckles!" Niki cooed at the sound of his voice, causing the boy to flinch.

"S-Sorry if we surprised you." I said slowly, taking a step towards him. "My name is Alex, this is my sister Niki. We wish to help you."

"Help me? You can help me by explaining where I am and how I got here." Knuckles snapped, though his voice was a little softer now.

I nodded, understanding his panic. "This is our house. Shadow brought you here." I motioned towards him. Knuckles followed my gaze to Shadow, who was leaning against the wall. Knuckles eyes widened.

"Shadow?" he questioned.

Shadow glanced at the younger Echidna, nodding.

"Y-You're human.' Knuckles said slowly.

"So are you.' Niki said softly.

"Whats going on? How did we get here Shadow?" Knuckles demanded, completely ignoring Niki and me. Niki pouted, not enjoying being ignored.

Shadow looked out the window, frowning. "I don't know." he answered. "When I woke up yesterday, I was in this house with those two.' Shadow pointed to Niki and Alex. Before Knuckles could assume anything, Shadow continued. "They were as confused as me. They were the ones that asked me to come and get you, then bring you here." Shadow explained.

"Why bring me here?" Knuckles turned to Niki and me.

"It's better you're here then out there in a world you don't understand." Niki responded. Knuckles, calming down, nodded.

"Oh... w-well then." He bowed a bit. "Thank you for your generosity."

A bit confused by Knuckles sudden attitude, Niki blushed. "N-No problem at all." she laughed nervously.

"Hey there!" A voice called from the front door.

All of us whirled around to see the front door open, and a boy standing by it. He had spiky blue hair, and emerald green eyes. His light blue shorts matched perfectly with his white shirt and gloves. "I knew it was you guys." he laughed.

Knuckles suddenly stepped in front of Niki and me protectively. "Who are you?"

The boy laughed. "Knuckles its me, Sonic." the boy laughed, pointing to himself.

"Eh!" Niki, Knuckles, and me gasped. Shadow flinched, looking very irritated at Sonic's sudden arrival.  
"W-What?" I stuttered, confused.

_How did Sonic get here? Was Amy, or Tail in this world too? How did Sonic even find this house? Had he seen Shadow and followed him?_

"Sonic... how did you get here?" Knuckles gasped.

"I was running around when I saw Shadow run by with you, so I followed. I thought you looked familiar too." Sonic laughed, pointing to Shadow. "And I did, haha. I knew no one else was as fast as me, so it had to be you Shads." Sonic grinned. "I knew I wasn't alone in this world."

Knuckles was silent, unable to speak.  
"Wah! Sonic-kun!" Niki squealed, waving her arms around. Sonic blinked when he heard his name, and looked over to Niki and me.

"Are these friends of yours Knuckles?' Sonic asked, waving to us.

Knuckles, snapping out of his confusion, looked over his shoulder at us. "Not... exactly." he shrugged.

"We just met." I explained. "Hi, I'm Alex." I waved back to Sonic.

"I'm Niki!' Niki grinned.

"Hey Alex, Niki. Names Sonic, Sonic the hedge... uh... Human." Sonic looked back down at himself, suddenly remembering he was a different species.

"Sonic the hedgehuman. That would be a weird name to go by." Niki chuckled. Sonic laughed along with her, but stopped.

"Hey wait, you know I'm not suppose to be human?" Sonic pointed to Niki, confused.

Niki and me flinched. Looking at one another, Niki sighed.  
"I'll go get the games." Niki trudged pass Sonic and Knuckles, towards the stairs.

"Come boys, sit." I motioned for the couch. "I'll make some snacks. These next few hours are going to be long." with that, I exited the living room, heading straight to the kitchen.

(end)

"Okay, it's done." Toby announced, pulling me back to reality. I grinned, leaning over his shoulder to look at the fake IDs

"Knuck Adams, Shad James, and Sony (Sony as in- Sony corperation) Hedge." I read aloud.

"You sure those are really their names? They could be lying." Toby asked.

_Not at all._

"Yeah, I'm sure." I nodded.

"Weird." Toby commented, shacking his head. "Well it's done, I expect my chocolate cake by tomorrow." Toby closed his laptop, and headed for the stairs.

"Thanks Toby." I said as we exited the basement and I led him to the front door.  
"Any time." Toby grinned, as I opened the front door. "They all start school with you Monday. Though, I'm not quiet sure why you would want them to come to school with you." Toby said at me, raising is eye brow as he stepped out onto the porch.

"I'd rather have them at school then in my house alone where I can't watch them." I answered with a smirk before I closed the door.

"Creepy!' Toby called from outside.

I rolled my eyes. Turning towards the kitchen, I paused at the sound of laughter. Entering the kitchen, I was surprised at the sight of Niki trying to teach Sonic and knuckles how to make a Pie.

"Okay, now you just roll the dough in nice even strokes." Niki commanded as Knuckles glared down at the roller and dough.

"Even strokes." he muttered trying to mimic how Niki had just showed him.

"Niki." Sonic called. "How exactly do you open these?" the blue haired teen stared at the egg in confused.

"You crack it- NOT TOO HARD!" Niki yelled when Sonic was about to smash the egg with his hard grip. "Just, tap it a bit." Niki took the egg from his hand, and gave him an example. Taping the egg against the counter, making the egg crack, Niki used her thumbs to open the egg and placed it in the bowl. "Now you try." Niki motioned to the rest. "We only need 3 more though.

"What sort of pie needs so many eggs?" I questioned, glancing towards the table to see Shadow staring down at Julie from his seat.

"We're are also making pancakes." Niki explained.

"For lunch?"

"Shadow said he wanted some." Niki shrugged. Looking at Shadow, I saw he was avoiding my stares.

"Oh, well then, can I help with anything?" I inquired, slowly looking back at my sister.  
"Nope. Just sit down and relax." Niki grinned.

I chuckled, quickly walking to the table to sit down.

_I had to admit. I was shocked on how relaxed Shadow, Knuckles, and Sonic were. When we told Sonic and Knuckles they weren't real, they didn't believe us. Once we showed them the games and cartoon shows though, they slowly began to. Once we were done, Knuckles panicked only for a few minutes while Sonic grinned and said "Well that's a surprise."_

_They were both okay with it now. It was shocking. If I learned I wasn't real, I would feel depressed. To learn that everything you thought was true was not, it would be awful. Yet, these three seemed fine with it. _

_Maybe they were panicking on the inside, and just trying to coop as best they could. Or maybe, they just didn't truly believe us, and just said they did. Who knows. _

_"_Oh yeah. Shadow, Sonic, Knuckles." I grinned, suddenly remembering my news. The three boys looked at me curiously. "Since I can't trust you in my house alone, or out in the streets by yourself without you all causing a major panic, I've decided you are all coming with Niki and me on Monday."

"Coming with you where?' Knuckles asked. Niki's eyes widened in shock.

"Alex, you don't mean-!" Niki gasped.  
"That's right. You're all going to school!" I announced.


	6. Chapter 6

**My new chapter is out! Once more, this chapter was also re-written. Anyway, please review!**

I'll be honest, it's not easy going through High School. There are ups and downs, and frankly, most of the time it's pointless.

So I know for a fact that trying to get three super powered teens to complete a single day of High School was going to be my toughest challenge yet.

After explaining to the boys why they were going to attend High School, it took a lot of convincing for them to agree. I had told them that they may learn of ways to get back to their world if they attended. Kunckles and Sonic, being naive, instantly agreed. Unlike Shadow, who seemed skeptical at first, but eventually saw my way.

"Okay Shadow, from this point on you are Shad James, while Sonic is Sony Hedge, and Knuckles is Knuck Adams." I announced as we scrambled into the car.

"Knuck Adams?" Niki questioned.

"It was the only thing that would work at such a short notice." I hissed. "At least their names are close."

"What sort of name is 'Sony'?" Sonic whined, staring down at his fake ID.

"Oh don't worry Sonic it's a very... common name." Niki shrugged slowly, using fake enthusiasm to cheer the blue headed teen up.

"Shad." Shadow muttered, glaring at the paper.

"That's pretty lame." Knuckles smirked.

"Knuck is even lamer." Sonic pointed out, causing the red haired teen to flinch and glare at him.

I sighed as we started our way to school. "Okay." I said, looking in the mirror at all of them. "When we get there, you guys have to call each other by those names." I ordered.

"I still don't see why we can't just use our real names." Sonic folded his arms with a pout.

"You saw Niki's reaction to you guys, right?" I glanced over my shoulder at them. "If you were revealed there would be at least up to nine of ten mobs of fangirls." The three boys shuddered.

"Though I don't anyone would actually believe your names are Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Shadow the Hedgehog." Niki mumbled as she stared out the window.

"True." I nodded.

**- Later that morning (9:30 AM)-**

I had to hand it to Toby. He was a genius!

I grinned towards Shadow, who was standing in the front of the class. Toby had put Shadow in all my classes. That way, I wouldn't have to worry if he was doing some thing weird in any other classes.

"Class, before we start class, I would like to introduce a new Foreign exchange student that will be joining us this year. This is Shad James." Our English teacher, Mrs. Meyer, smiled.

The class clapped politely. "He will be staying with us for a while, so treat them kindly." Mrs. Meyer shot a look towards Blake Jordon, one of the top troublemakers in the school.

Blake had bright orange hair that was neatly combed back, revealing his piercing green eyes.

"Shad, you may sit where ever you like." Mrs. Meyer smiled once more before turning back to the board.

In that moment every girl in class practically pushed the guys they were sitting to out of their chairs, and smiled at Shadow. Shadow scowled a bit, shoving his hands in his pockets. Staring around the room, a bit annoyed, his eyes landed on my.

In a flash, I heard the chair next to me get pulled out and someone sit down. My eyes widened as I looked to my right.

There sat Shadow, the super natural hedgehog that got turned human. What was he doing? He didn't have to sit next to me.

Some people gasped a bit, surprised Shadow had gotten over there so fast. Others glared at me, angered that Shadow chose to sit by me instead of them.

Shadow glanced at me and tapped his pencil against the table in irritation.  
"I'd thought it would be better sitting by you then those fan girls, but seeing how you keep staring at me it probably wouldn't have mattered where I sat." Shadow muttered, looking straight at the teacher, trying to avoid eye contact.

I blushed. _Who the biggest idiot in the world? Oh that's, right, me!_

"S-Sorry, I was just surprised is all." I stuttered, quickly reaching into my bag, trying to distract myself from embarrassment.

Shadow glanced at me and raised an eyebrow of interest.

_Crap! Stop talking, idiot!_

"I-I mean, I'm happy you sat next to me but I just thought you would prefer to sit by someone other then me. I mean, not that it's a problem that you sat next to me. I mean, I will probably just distract you… like I'm doing now…" I babbled, slowly trailing off. Shadow stared at my blankly. "I'll be quiet now." I whispered, looking ahead.

_I just said stop talking! Gah! Why don't I ever listen to myself? This wasn't going as well as I thought it would go. I probably looked, and sounded like a total idiot. I keep saying "I mean," I'm such a weirdo! _

"You're not a distraction." Shadow said quietly, interrupting my thought rant. I looked at him in surprise. "I chose to sit next to you because I wanted to. Besides your constant rants are interesting." Shadow smirked at the last part.

I blushed. "W-What is that suppose to mean." I hissed silently as Mrs. Meyer began to write today's lesson on the board.

Shadow opened his book without a word and stared down at it.  
"Honestly." I muttered as I opened my book up too.

_Yet, I feel happy. Maybe it was because Shadow was finally opening up to me. Even if it was only to irritate me. _

The day went pretty normal after that. 'Shad', 'Sony', and 'Knuck' were pretty popular with everyone, and they didn't seem to have any problems with school.

From what Niki said, Knuckles and Sonic were a little loud in their classes, but were instantly silenced by her teachers. That was to be expected though, wasn't it? I was honestly surprised that Sonic was able to sit still for that long. Knowing his short attention span.

Lunch eventually rolled around and we all met up by the tables in the back.

"Finally, I'm staving." Sonic groaned,

"Cafeteria food isn't very good." Niki warned, pulling out a sack lunch. "I made you and Knuckles a sandwich."

"Wahoo!" Knuckles and Sonic grinned, following cloesly after Niki to the nearest table. .

I smile as Shadow and me followed after them. Knuckles, Sonic and Shadow had stayed pretty close to Niki and me this whole day. I guess they thought if they let us out of their sight they'd lose us. Though I wouldn't argue, you can get lost pretty easily in High School. I know I have.

Looking over my shoulder at Shadow, I smiled nervously. "Shadow." I said softly, gaining his attention. "I made you a sandwich too, if you're hungry." I announced, lifting up my lunch box. As we sat down, Shadow nodded as I took it out.

"Thanks." He said, taking the plastic bag containing a Turkey sandwich. I grinned, feeling over joyed.

_I wonder why though?_

"Oh Alex!" a familiar voice called. I turned around just in time to see Summer's face before she tackled me into the ground.

"Gack! Summer~!" I yelled in shock, falling to the ground. Shadow jumped to his feet, assuming Summer was an enemy.

"It's okay." Niki said quickly, reaching out to grab his arm. "She's just a... weird friend." Niki explained with a nervous smile.

Summer grinned then helped me to my feet. "Oh Alex, you wouldn't believe the day I've had. I seem to have been banned from going to any of the biology rooms, would you believe that? Me, a normal pedestrian! It's just insulting honestly." Summer sighed, brushing my shoulders off.

I sighed. "It's not so surprising at all honestly." I muttered.

We both fell silent when Shadow stepped forward. "Who are you?" Shadow asked, folding his arms and glaring at Summer.

"Summer Thorn, Alex's best friend. Who might you be?" Summer glared back.

"Shad James, he's a new foreign exchange student." I answered quickly.

Summer looked Shadow up and down. "Exchange student huh? From where? You don't seem to have any accent." She muttered.

"You don't need an accent to be from a foreign land." Shadow stated calmly.

"Okay then, where are you from?" Summer repeated.

"Does it truly concern you?" Shadow hissed.

I could already tell there were going to be some sort of problem between these two.  
"Come on guys, how about we sit down and talk while we eat?" Niki called to us quickly.

I smiled at her. "Okay Niki." I agreed, glad she had spoke up. Shadow and Summer slowly agreed, sitting across from one another, their glares never leaving their expression.

"So, Shad. What are your hobbies?" Summer questioned as she leaned on the back of her chair, completely forgetting the fact that Sonic and Knuckles were there.

"Running." Shadow answered instantly.

"Favorite color?"

"Black and Red."

"Favorite day."

"I prefer Thursdays."

"When did you meet Alex and Niki?"

"On Saturday."

"Where are you staying?"

"It's weird that you wish to know, but Alex's home." Shadow said before he took a sip of his milk.  
Summer, shocked by the sudden announcement, put an arm around my shoulder.

"Alex." She hissed in my ear. "Your letting a stranger stay in your house?" she questioned.  
"He's not a complete stranger." I pouted. "He's been very nice (ish) to Niki and me. Besides, he's not the only one." I muttered the last part slowly.

"What does that mean?" Summer growled. She had never liked it when I acted rash or out of character, though she was rash and just plain stupid all the time.

I motioned towards Sonic and Knuckles, who were busy munching on their sandwiches and talking to Niki. "They are staying with us too."

"Foreign exchange students?" Summer guessed with a low tone.

"Knuck Adams and Sony Hedge." I answered. "And Niki has grown very found of them by the way. They are very nice." I pointed out. Summer narrowed her eyes and glanced at the two.  
"This isn't normally like you." Summer whispered softly, glancing at Shadow, who was staring at us.

"It's not odd for foreign exchange students to stay at an American's house. The house was feeling a little dull, so I signed up for this program that allowed a few foreign exchange students to come and stay at my house." I said slowly, trying my best to make my cover story believable. Though Summer was a little dim at times, she could spot a lie from a mile away.

"Three teenage boys at your house is a little dangerous, wouldn't you agree?" Summer asked.

I shrugged. "I trust them. Besides, they aren't those types of boys, trust me." I smiled slyly at her. Summer frowned, trying to figure out if I was lying or not.

Letting out a sigh, she nodded. "All right, if you say so. I'm not letting my eyes off of this one though." Summer motioned to Shadow. "He seems fishy."

"He did have some fish this morning." I nodded.

"You know what I mean." Summer chuckled, elbowing me in the shoulder. Within the next 10 minutes, our table was as loud as ever. Knuckles and Sonic were laughing as Niki and Summer told them the time I fell down a small pit hole they had dug up in the back yard.

"She was stuck down there for three hours!" Summer cackled, clutching her stomach. "The worst part of it all though, is that there were a few spiders down there. She was screaming so much that our neighbors thought some one was attacking her and called the cops."

"That wasn't funny." I muttered, folding my arms.

"It was from our view." Niki giggled.

"That fall hurt! I broke my pinky!" I argued.  
"It was only a fracture, not big deal." Summer waved my comment off with a sly smirk. I glared at her. Summer slowly frowned, staring pass Shadow with a scowl.

"I hate that guy." She hissed.

All of us looked pass Shadow's shoulder to see Blake Jordon walking by, his small gang surrounding him. I frowned, nodding in agreement.  
"Who is he?" Knuckles asked.  
"Blake Jordon, he thinks he's the king of the school, but if you ask me he's a royal jerk." Niki sighed as she dug her fork into her sandwich.  
"Heh." Knuckles chuckled. "He doesn't look too tough."

"He isn't. He's a coward who can't back up his own words." Summer growled.

"You're just saying that because he blamed you for the fight." I said.

"It was completely his fault though!" Summer snapped. "He was the one who kicked me first, so he had that punch in the face coming. Then he started bawlin to the teacher saying crap like "I was just walking through the halls when she punched me!" the little brat."

"He's older then you." Niki pointed out.  
"B R A T!" Summer argued, growling at the memory. She picked up her pudding cup and glared at Blake, who was 9 or so tables away from us.

"Summer... don't." I warned, realizing what she intended to do.

"Do it!" Niki encouraged.

"Niki, don't encourage her!" I scolded. The boys were silent, staring in shock as Summer flew her arm forward, firing the pudding cup.

"Summer!' I yelled as it watched it fly. Summer grinned as she watched her beloved pudding fly to it's target.

"Come on, go you delicious chocolate covered desert, go!" Summer cheered as it fell down. We all flinched as it impacted, right on top of Blake.

Slowly turned around, Blake's face reddened with anger. His glare slowly fell on Summer, who was still standing, glaring right back. "Hey! Thorn!" Blake yelled grabbing his lunch, which involved pizza, and threw it at her. Summer ducked flinching when the pizza originally aimed to hit her, hit Niki.

Niki sat there silently as the pizza slowly rolled down her face, leaving it red with sauce.  
"Hey!" Knuckles yelled rising from his feet and picking up his sandwich.

That is where the greatest food fight known to mad began. So of course, I was right in the middle of it. I noticed though, whenever something came towards me, Shadow would hit it away.

He was sweet, in his own way.

Wait, why am I thinking about this! I have to get out of here before everyone starts bringing out the J-ello!

**And we end here, thanks for all those who reviewed and I will try and get out my new chapter out soon.**

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	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the one-month wait! Writers block can be so annoying… well anyway, I hope you enjoy my new chapter**

Time froze, the darkness surrounded me like a blanket. I was alone, trapped in this endless darkness. What should I do… what could I do? My mind raced with so many different emotions. Fear, anger, sadness, and pain. I didn't want to be alone. Who does? The world would be so lonely if everyone wanted solitude.

I wanted to escape, I was afraid. I didn't want to get swallowed up and be lost forever.

Couldn't anyone save me? Save me from my own fears? "Shadow…" I whispered.

"SHADOW!"

-Bringgg-

I burst upward, my eyes wide and my back sticky. I breathed heavily as I stared around my room, taking in my surroundings. I slowly calmed my breathing and sighed.

This was the 7 night in a row I've had this nightmare. Though Shadow and Knuckles have only been here for 4 days, the nightmares had gotten worst since their arrival.

Were my dreams trying to tell me something?

Niki had said something about how some people believe dreams are sub-conscious warnings of the future.

I ran my hands through my hair and glanced at the clock. 4:00 in the morning. With school in a couple of hours it would be pointless to try and get some sleep. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and let them swing off the ground. I looked up and blinked at the odd shaped shadows by my bed stand.

I tilted my head in confusion.

"Did I wake you?" a dark voice asked. I jumped slightly in surprise.  
"Oh… Shadow." I whispered. "No." I shook my head. "Just a bad dream is all." I laughed nervously.

Shadow took a step forward, the small light from the moon showed half of his face. "You yelled my name." Shadow announced.  
I blinked. "I…I did." I asked. My dream came flashing back. That's right, I must have yelled his name when I woke up. Heat rushed to my face. "S-Sorry." I stammered. "I didn't mean to disturb you, I must have woken you up." I rubbed my head in embarrassment.

Shadow just crossed his arms.

I hope he isn't mad.

"Hehe." I grinned. I blinked. "Hey wait… that still doesn't explain why you were sneaking around." I accused. "And what were you doing, hiding in the shadows like that." I crossed my arms as well. Shadow was silent, but looked out towards the moon.

Shadow looked back at me, a glare that made shivers go down my spin was on his face.

I flinched. I probably shouldn't have said anything.

"I was just checking on you, and I didn't want you to freak out." Shadow glanced towards my hockey stick that was beside my bed.

I stared at Shadow for a long amount of time. He was… worried?

"Oh… um thanks." I muttered. I looked up at him sorry. "I'm sorry… did that hurt when I…" I motioned towards his head.  
"Of course not." Shadow said bluntly. "I'm the worlds greatest life from, a simple stick could never cause any real damage."

"Then why were you so afraid to come near me?" I asked.

"I wasn't afraid." Shadow hissed.

I shrugged. "If you say so."

Shadow glared deeply at me. "Don't push me." He hissed, using his speeds to grab my wrists and hold them in the air. Shadow face leaned in towards mine but stopped when our noses touched.

I blushed as I stared into his ruby eyes.

"It seems important to you and I didn't want it breaking if you did manage to hit me." Shadow explained.

I blinked. Shadow and me stayed like that for a while. Neither of us blinking or looking away from each others gaze.

Shadow was the first to look away though. He slowly let go of my wrists and I let them fall back down on the bed.

I stared at shadow in bewilderment. Shadow had never shown this side of himself before. I was confusing honestly. Just when I begin to think he hates me… he does all this.

I looked down at my feet.  
"Well… thanks for checking on me." I said slowly.

Shadow just nodded.

"I guess you'll be going to be now?" I asked?

Shadow shook his head. "Can't sleep."

"Oh." I nodded. "Me neither."

Shadow looked at me. I smiled at him. "Wanna go for a walk?"

"Before the sun is up?" Shadow inquired?

"Yeah." I nodded.  
"Wouldn't that usually count as recklessness?" Shadow asked?

"What do you mean?" I blinked.

Shadow sighed. "For a girl to go walking around along in the middle of the night, that's pretty stupid." Shadow commented.

I folded my arms. "I'll let you know, I do it almost 2 times every week, and I'm fine! Besides… I usually take this with me." I said as I picked up my hockey stick.

"Wont that cause suspicion? A girl carrying around a hockey stick through the streets?" Shadow asked

I shook my head. "No, the folks around here are use to it." I smiled.

Shadow just raised an eyebrow at me.

I got up off the bed and strolled past Shadow. I grabbed a jacket and slung it over my pajamas. "Coming?" I asked.

Shadow didn't say anything and just followed after me.

Shadow was a little right though. It was reckless to just wonder around in the middle of the night. But I had done it all my life, even when I was a little girl. I like watching the moon, going by the darkened house and blinking traffic lights.

The shadows of the tress especially interested me. You could blend into them so easily.

I wasn't afraid of the shadows… the darkness was different. If I told Summer this she would laugh and say "There are no differences between the two." She was wrong though. There was a huge different. Darkness is just and endless pit of black. Shadow's showed the form of an object in a different perspective. Shadow's were born from light, and can not live with out it.

I guess Shadow's and light balanced each other. Without Shadow's there would be only light and darkness. And with out light there would be no Shadows. It's a weird way to put it huh.

"It is." Shadow agreed.

I blinked. "What?" I asked?

"I said it is." Shadow repeated.  
"It is what?" I asked.  
"Your thinking, it's a weird way to think of Darkness and light." Shadow said, looking at me as we walked through the empty streets together.  
I THOUGHT OUT LOUD AGAIN! I stiffened, all the blood draining from my face.  
"Did…I say all of that out loud?" I asked slowly.

Shadow nodded. My eyes widened.  
"S-S-Sorry." I stammered.

"For what?" Shadow asked.  
"I babbled again huh." I rubbed my head.

Shadow just stared at me. "It's okay." He said slowly. "It was an interesting way of thinking of things." Shadow walked ahead of me. I stared at his back in surprise.  
I wonder… Is Shadow the same as the shadows that cover the trees and grass?

Was he just a different perspective of light and darkness? Shadow is kind at heart, but has a dark side to him that I don't think even HE understands fully.

I wanted to learn more about him. See what he thinks of the world. What he thinks about Niki and Summer, though I all ready have a pretty good guess on how he thinks of her. But mostly…. I want to know what he thinks of me, and my world. I smiled at Shadow's back.

**And we end here! Hope you all liked it! PLEASE REVIEW**


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: To all of those who have seen that I finally updated this, I suggest that you go back to the beginning, because I have re-written every chapter of this story. If you just started reading this chapter for the first time, continue reading please**. ^_^

It had been at least a week since finding a certain Black Hedgehog in my bed. Though things were tough at the beginning, and weird towards the middle, everything has started to calm down a bit.

You could almost say that this house was normal for once…. Almost.

My nightmares still haunt me night after night. Each time getting more intense then the last. Sadly, I keep disturbing Shadow from his sleep by calling out his name every night. I hope he isn't mad that he can't sleep right because of me.

He says he's "The ultimate life from" though, so I guess he's fine.

Sonic, Knuckles and Niki have been getting along just fine. They often go off after school and tour around the town. Though, because of what happened to Knuckles when we first found him, he has to wear a hat to cover his face, just in case.

It would be troublesome if someone were to spot him and recognize him.

Summer has been coming over more often too. Her excuse for breaking into my house was something along the lines of "I need to make sure those boys aren't up to trouble."

Though I often tell her she has nothing to worry about, it's nice that she is concerned.

Besides that, everything is starting to become normal. I finally called my parents and explained the whole foreign exchange student plan too. After a few tries, they were okay with it, so we're in the clear when it comes to them.

"Alex… Alex!" Summer whined, poking my shoulder.

"Huh?" I gasped, sitting up, realizing that I was in the middle of a conversation.

"You dazed out again." Summer sighed, shacking her head. "What do you even think about for so long anyway?"

"Eh? Oh uh…. Everything I guess." I shrugged, flushing red with embarrassment.

Summer rolled her eyes. "You think too much." She scolded.

"You think too less." Shadow pointed out, strolling into the room with a blank expression.  
"No one said you could comment on our conversation, weird spiky head!" Summer barked at him.

"No one said I couldn't either." Shadow sat next to me, propping his elbow up on counter and leaning against his hand.

Summer growled. "What do you even want anyway?"

"Do you truly even care?" Shadow questioned.  
"Not really." Summer blinked, turning back to me. "Anyway, as I was saying. I just came to tell you the theme for this years Timber Festival."

I frowned. "I told you already, I'm not going."

"Aww, don't be such a lame cookie Alex. This will be your last chance to go, since you haven't gone to a single one since entering high school." Summer pointed out.

"So?"

"So, this will be your only chance! You don't want to regret it later, and besides, it's only one night." Summer folded her arms, glaring at me.

I let out a sigh. "What's the theme?"

Beaming at my sudden interest, Summer pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. "Sorry, I sat on it on the way here." She chuckled nervously, straightening it. Looking over her shoulder, I tilted my head.

"Wishing Star." I read. "Huh? What does that mean?" I questioned, confused. The paper was black, with a bright white star right in the middle with the words. **2012 Timber High Festival!**

"See, on the night of the prom, there is suppose to be a once in a life time star shooting over the sky!" Summer explained, clearly excited.

"Once in a life time star?" Shadow scowled, not truly understanding what was so great about it.

"This isn't any normal star, weird spiky head." Summer glared at him. "They say it's a wishing star. The star is in a way, like a comet. It passes over the earth once every 12000 years! We'll be lucky enough to see it."

"If it's going to pass over our planet, then it's a comet, not a star." I pointed out dully.  
"Shh Alex, don't ruin the fun." Summer whined, smacking my head a little. "As I was saying, the star is supposedly magical, and will grant your wish. However, your wish will only come true if it's a pure wish."

"Meaning?" I asked.

"Meaning, that your wish has to be pure and come straight from the heart." Summer jabbed her thumb over her heart with a grin.

"That sounds ridiculous." Shadow scoffed.

"What's so ridiculous about it? I think it's wonderful." Summer snapped at him, preparing to throw her cookie at him.

Grabbing her arms, I chuckled. "We each have our own opinions Summer. Shadow has his, and you have your own. I mean, have you ever heard of someone's wish coming true, just by wishing on a star?"

"Well…. Pinocchio." She answered.  
"That's not a fictional character?" I sighed.

"Hmm… I guess not." She shrugged.

"Exactly." I released her arm, rising from my chair. "So don't try to force your opinions on others without decent proof." I ordered, walking towards the door.

"Haven't you ever made a wish on star Alex?" Summer called to me.

Pausing, I stared at my feet. "A wish on a star?" I repeated.  
Summer nodded. "Yeah."

"Well yeah… everyone has. It's just something you do when you see a shooting star." I stammered quickly, refusing to look back at Shadow and Summer whom were both staring at me.

"Did your wish ever come true?"

My eyes widened. That night Shadow appeared in my house, I made a wish. What was that wish again?

_Dear shooting star, please… please, I don't want to be alone anymore. If you can hear my pleas, I'd like to have someone… anyone… to help me not feel so lonely anymore._

"…" Ever since that day, I had met Shadow, Knuckles and Sonic. My life has completely changed, and I rarely ever felt lonely. Could it be that my wish had been granted?

Why was I only realizing this now!

"Yeah actually." I announced softly. "My wish did come true."

"Ah-ha! See! Wishes do come true! What did you wish for?" Summer demanded, jumping up and down, grinning widely. Shadow, slightly interested about the topic, looked over his shoulder at me.

Looking back at them, I gave them a weak smile. "My wish was… for some help to get over my fear." I answered.

"Eh?" Summer tilted her head, confused. Leaving the subject at that, I quickly retreated from the room, heading straight out the front door.

Shadow stared after me, frowning slightly. He was honestly confused to what I meant, but didn't want to push the subject.

Help to get over my fear wasn't exactly my wish, but it was basically the same thing. I was afraid to be alone, so having everyone with me helped me not feel so afraid.

Having Sonic and Knuckles here helped me not feel afraid. Having… Shadow here helped me.

Sitting down on my front porch, I sighed. Even if I did make a wish that night though, there is no way it could have come true. Then again, there should be no way that Shadow, Sonic, and Knuckles are here, but they are.

So then, could it be true that this was all happening because of a wish that I made? I would have to talk to Niki about this later, but the possibility was definitely plausible.

Returning back to the world of reality, I stared up at the large blue sky.

If this was truly my fault, how would I be able to look them all in the eye? Shadow, he hated humans, right? I mean, he didn't completely hate them. He still wanted revenge on them for Maria's death though!

It must make him frustrated to know that he is a human right now. It must make all of them confused and afraid to know that they might be stuck here for the rest of their lives.

"Gack!" I flinched as a large gust of wind blew my hair back. Squinting my eyes, I lifted my hand up to shield them. Through my blurry vision, I thought I saw a girl.

"Huh?" I thought as she approached, seemingly un-moved by the wind.

The girl had long waist length white hair that waved through the air, shifting and turning to the breeze. Her chocolate brown eyes stared blankly at me, as if staring deep into my soul.

"Who-?" I muttered softly, staring at the young girl, probably around the age of 12. With bare, shoeless feet, the girl approached. She had white leggings on with a matching short blue dress.

"Hello." She greeted just as the wind calmed down, leaving only a small breeze. Her eyes were calm and caring, similar to that of an adults.

"H… Hello." I stuttered back, still baffled at her sudden appearance. _When did she get there? Who was she?_

"Do you live here?' she asked.  
"Y-Yes." I nodded quickly, jumping to my feet. "My name is Alex… Alex KuroBara." I announced, holding out my hand.

With a small grip, she grabbed my hand. I couldn't help but examine her pale porcelain skin with awe.

She was almost as pale as the moon.

"Luna." She smiled softly. "I'll be your new neighbor, Ms. KuroBara."

"A-Alex is just fine." I grinned weakly, shacking her hand up and down. "No need to be so formal Luna, I'm glad we get to be neighbors. We don't have many kids around here."

"You're very nice. It's was nice to meet you too." Releasing my hand, Luna examined my house. "You have a very large house here. Do you have a lot of family?"

"Oh no, just me and my sister, Niki. My parents are often gone too." I answered.

Nodding, Luna smiled. "Any others?"  
"Oh, there are some foreign exchange students living with us. Maybe I can introduce you to them later. Where do you live, Luna?" I asked, looking around the neighborhood, trying to figure out where this young girl was from. I didn't notice any moving trucks lately.

"Around." Luna smiled softly, turning away. "I have to leave now, I'll see you around, Alexandra."

"Oh uh… yeah I guess." I mumbled meekly, waving goodbye to the young girl as she ran down the street, disappearing when she was too far to see.

She was a strange girl. I've never seen anyone with white hair besides Summer before. Well, Summer had move of a silver tint to her hair, but that girl…. It was pure white!

"I wonder if she gets mistaken for an elderly person from behind?" I muttered, turning back towards the door, wanting to tell Summer and Niki about my strange encounter. As I gripped the door handle, I froze, slowly looking back at the street.

"I don't…. remember telling her my full name." I whispered softly.

**Finished! Special thanks to witchcat2012! :D I hope Luna turned out how you first created her. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hmm. Well here I am, back with another chapter! Wahaha!**

"Alex. Alex! Hey, Alex!" Sonic called, waving his hand frantically in front of the young teens face, trying his very best to get her attention.

"I wouldn't bother. She gets like that when she is in deep thought." Niki, who was currently making dinner, sighed.

"What does she think about for so long?" Knuckles questioned.

Niki paused to think. Coming up with many answers, she shrugged. "Everything I guess. When ever something confuses her or has more then one outcome, she has to think about every little detail."

"Wonder what it is this time." Sonic grinned, poking Alex's cheek.

"She did say something about a new neighbor." Summer chipped in, gargling down her drink.

Niki, unaware of this information, blinked. "New neighbor? I didn't hear anything about that."

"Yeah, she was mumbling something about a new kid moving in. Said she was a strange girl too." Summer explained. Leaning over, she snapped her fingers in front of Alex's face. "Oy Alex, return to reality you over achiever."

That seemed to do the trick and Alex snapped back to reality. "What?' she asked, staring around.

The group began to laugh, all except Shadow, who folded his arms.

"Welcome back to a place I call Earth Alex. Please pay 5 dollars if you wish to return to your little fantasy world." Summer grinned, holding out her palm.

Slapping her hand away, Alex pouted. "Don't mock me." she whined.

"We wouldn't have to if you stopped thinking too hard." Niki pointed out, leaning against the counter as she whipped the water off her hands using her apron.

"I can't help it." Alex argued. "Besides, I can't stop thinking about that girl I met."

The group paused, suddenly very interested. "What girl?" Shadow voiced the question everyone wanted to know.

"The new neighbor?" Sonic guessed.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, that's her. She said her name was Luna."

"Luna?" Summer paused. "That's a nice name." she grinned.

"What about her? Is she weird?" Knuckles questioned, folding his arms.

"Well, not really. She seems really nice, and she looked like she was 10. It's just, she knew my full name…. when I didn't tell her it." Alex announced, frowning.

The room was silent.

"That…. is a little weird I suppose." Sonic nodded, though he didn't truly understand cause EVERYONE knew his full name.

"Where does she live? I didn't see any moving trucks lately." Niki grabbed the dinner plates and brought them over to the table, sitting beside Knuckles.

"I didn't either. She didn't tell me which house she lived in either. All she said was that she was my neighbor." Alex responded, grabbing her drink. Her throat suddenly felt so dry.

"Perhaps she is from a few streets down and was just walking around." Summer suggested. Alex shrugged, knowing that could be a possibility.

"I wouldn't worry about it now though. I'm sure you'll met up with her again and she may have just assumed your name was Alexandra." Niki assured her older sister, patting her on the back.

Giving a small nod, Alex began to make her plate. Shadow on the other hand, waited a few moment before eating. He stared at Alex, frowning a bit.

"Man!" Summer suddenly groaned, falling back in her chair.

"What?" Sonic questioned.

"Tomorrows Friday." she announced.

"Yeah, and?" Knuckles scowled.

"I have nothing to do." Summer pouted. "A boring Friday night is never fun."

Alex suddenly felt very interested in the conversation and chipped in. "We could all go skating."

"Skating?" Sonic gasped.

"What's with that reaction?" Summer questioned. "Haven't you ever been skating before Sony (_Reminder: Summer doesn't know Sonic's real name and calls him Sony_)?"

"Gone, 'haven't you ever gone skating before' Summer." Niki corrected.

"Shut up." she hissed, looking back at Sonic, wanting an answer.

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck, frowning. "Well… I just don't like the ice. It's hard to run on Ice."

"That's why you wear skates." Niki chuckled, leaning her head against her hands. "That sounds fun though. We should all go."

"Yeah!" Summer agreed. "What do you boys say? Wanna tag along?"

Knuckles and Sonic exchanged worried glanced. "Sure?" they shrugged, glancing at Shadow.

Having not spoken yet, he scowled. "Sounds stupid."

"You just say that 'cause you can't skate." Summer smirked.

"I can skate fine. It just sounds boring." Shadow growled, folding her arms.

Not believing his answer, she smirked. "Oh yeah sure. _Thats _the reason."

Growling in annoyance, Shadow finally agreed to join them.

"All right, so tomorrow night we go skating~!"

~~~~Later that day~~~~ (Back to Alex's POV)

I opened my window, feeling the cool air hit me almost instantly. Sighing softly, I smiled at the feeling of the breeze blowing back my hair. "_Luna, huh?" _ She seemed like a very nice girl. There was just something about her though that I found odd. Perhaps it was her hair, or attitude. She seemed much more mature for her age, that's for sure.

Neither of those were the case though.

It was the very presence of her that gave me a… calm, almost nostalgic feeling. I know I had never met her before, but it was almost as if she had met me.

Weird, isn't it?

"Alex."

"KEH!" I squeaked in surprise, whirling around at the voice. Realizing it was Shadow, I relaxed. "Oh… Shadow." I sighed. "Have you ever heard of knocking?"

Without an answer, Shadow leaned against the wall. "Are you still thinking about that girl?"

Blinking in surprise, I slowly nodded. "How did you know?"

Shrugging, Shadow closed his eyes. "You aren't a very hard person to read."

I flinched. _Was that some sort of insult? _Folding my arms, I looked back out the window. "And you're… a very hard person to read." I admitted softly.

As if taking that as a compliment, Shadow opened his eyes.

"Still though…" I looked back out my window, refusing to look Shadow in the eyes. "Thank you."

I had been thanking Shadow a lot lately. Never telling him why.

"What for?" he grumbled, still confused as to why I never told him the reason for my thankfulness.

"Just because." I chuckled, wanting to keep the secret to myself. After Shadow came, I wasn't lonely anymore. So I took every chance I got to thank him for that. "But you know…" I frowned, biting my bottom lip. "I'm sorry Shadow,"

"For what?" he demanded, a little sick of my none explanatory comments.

I flinched a bit at his tone, understanding why he was a little upset with me. "B-because…" I couldn't say it. What if it was true? I had come to realize, that Shadow, Sonic and Knuckles had showed up after I made that wish. That completely selfish wish. Though it seemed impossible for it to happen, there was still a possibility that they were because of me. They were stuck in this world, in human form, thanks to me. Shadow didn't like humans that much either, so it must be frustrating to have been turned into something you hate.

"I'm just sorry, thats all. You've been put through a lot because of me, so I am really sorry." I struggled to get out the words as my heart tightened up. Covering my mouth, I stifled a small sob. Why was I crying at a time like this?

"Are you… crying?" Shadow suddenly asked.

"No." I answered quickly, rubbing my eyes with my sleeves. "I just have something in my eye." What a pathetic excuse that was, but it couldn't be helped. Leaning forward, I covered my red face with my hands.

"Don't…"

"Huh?" hearing Shadow's hesitant voice, I looked up for a moment.

"…cry…"

Surprised, I looked over my shoulder. Shadow had looked towards my closet, avoiding all eye contact with me. His eyes were narrowed and he was gritting his teeth. "Don't… cry.." he repeated again. "When you cry you… are really pathetic."

Flinching, I bit my bottom lip. "W-Well I'm sorry I'm so pitiful."

"That's not what I meant." Shadow suddenly snapped. "Just, don't cry. If you cry you'll get a head cold. Then we can't go skating tomorrow."

"Eh?" I blinked. "Y-You… remembered that?" I slowly smiled.

"We talked about it just a few hours ago, of course I would remember it." Shadow snapped, storming towards the door.

Suddenly feeling better I whipped my tears. "Thank you Shadow!" I called to him with a grin.

Glancing over his shoulder for a split second, I swear I thought I saw a smile.

-Niki-

Letting out a heavy sigh Niki leaned back on her chair. "Man, how troublesome." she muttered, glaring over at the red haired Echidna and blue haired Hedgehog. Both of them blinked, staring at Niki, begging with their eyes for her help.

"Come on Niki, we don't get this. Help us." Sonic whined.

"Yeah, what in the name of chaos is the… Quadratic Formula?" Knuckles paused, glaring at the words as if they were a secret message from outer space. Jumping out of her chair Niki walked over to her bed, where her two guests were seated. Sitting at the end of the bed, she took the paper from Sonic.

"It's pretty much a math term." Niki sighed. "You know, it's written like this. -b + or - …"

"GAH! What does that even mean!" Sonic yelled, throwing his head back.

"-b? What is that?" Knuckles agreed.

"It's…. well… I mean, it's what b is in the problem. See, in this situation -b would be 5." Niki mumbled, feeling a new understanding and respect for what teachers had to put up with.

"How did you get that?" the two super powered teens demanded, scanning their papers wildly.

"I got it from the equation. The first number in the equation is A, the next is B, and the final one is C!" Niki screamed, jabbing at the paper.

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" They whined.

"YOU TWO ARE HELPLESS!" she screamed back. "Shut up and listen! Then you _might _understand!"

Falling silent, the two boys nodded.

"Okay, now lets start again… wait a minute, why am I even bothering?" Niki blinked. Both of the boys tilted their heads, confused. "You guys don't even need to do this work sheet, and so what if you don't understand? It doesn't matter if you both stink in math because even if you manage to pass this semester there is no guarantee that…." Covering her mouth, Niki went silent.

"Guarantee that?" Knuckles urged her to finish.

"Um, no, never mind." Niki mumbled, turning away from the two. "It doesn't matter. Hey though, it's getting late. How about we continue this is study hall tomorrow?" she asked with a weak grin.

Staring at her the two nodded. "Okay." they agreed softly, not buying that she was okay. Glancing at each other, they both nodded.

"You sure you're okay?" Sonic pushed on.

"I'm fine." Niki waved them off.

"No you're not. Somethings wrong, it's written all over your face." Knuckles pointing out. Flinching, the younger girl gritted her teeth.

"Tell us." the two urged on.

Staring at them, Niki sighed. She could trust them, right?

"Well, there is no guarantee that…. you two will be here forever."

Both of the boys were shocked. Was she really worrying about that?

"Do you…. want us to stay forever?" Knuckles questioned, tilting his head.

Feeling her cheeks turn hot, Niki stammered, "W-What? No! I mean, sort of. It would be nice if you could, but if you can go back to your world then you should. Cause it would be selfish to ask for you both to stay here forever."

Understanding now why she was upset, the super powered teen smiled. Reaching their hands out, they patted the younger girl on the head.

Niki, confused by the gesture, looked up at the two.

"Don't worry Nik. Even if we can go back to our world, we'll still have all the memories we've made together." Sonic grinned.

"Well never leave you entirely." Knuckles nodded.

Blushing, Niki looked down at her feet. "….Right. Thanks." she smiled. Niki blinked when her laptop suddenly beeped. "I have e-mail!" she cheered, grabbing the small electrical device.

Knuckles, very interested, looked over Niki's shoulder. Not really minding, she continued to reply to her e-mail.

"What is that?" Knuckles finally asked, pointing to one of the option on the screen. (Firefox)

"It allows you to get on the internet." Niki answered.

"Internet?" Knuckled questioned with a puzzled pout.

"Yeah, you can look up anything you want on the internet. I could look up pictures of you even." Niki smirked.

"…. That's really creepy." the red echidna shivered.

"You don't even know the half of it. You're lucky I don't show you any Sonadow pics." Niki blushed at the thought, almost having a nose bleed moment.

"…Sonadow?"

Smirking, Niki began to type of her computer. "Let me enlighten you on the world of fangirls Knuckles." she cackled evilly.

Within moments, you could hear high pitched screams coming from Niki's room.

After that, Knuckles was never able to look at Shadow and Sonic again.

-Friday night-

"Ah! The cool refreshing feeling of ice!" I cheered, stretching my arms out.

"Cold…. slippery…. death trap." Sonic grumbled, folding his arms.

"Come on buddy, it won't be that bad." Niki encouraged, patting Sonic on the shoulder.

"So says you." Sonic shivered. "It's just like water, but frozen over. What if it breaks and I go falling into my watery grave?" Sonic demanded.

"Then I'll come rescue you." Summer announced, wrapping her arms around Sonic's shoulders and grinning. Sonic blinked, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"I don't need saving." he grumbled.

"Say that again when you fall into the water." Summer chuckled. Momentarily horrified that the ice would break, Sonic looked towards me.

"Don't worry Sony, she's joking. The ice won't break." I assured him. Looking a bit more relieved, Sonic looked back at the rink.

"Well, lets go!" Niki cheered as she finished putting on her skates.

"R…Right." Knuckles grumbled, stumbling to his feet. He slowly walked to the rink, Niki by his side, helping him.

"I don't need help!" he growled, just as he began to stumble forward.

"Sure you don't." Niki chuckled. Growling, Knuckles didn't protest any further.

"Let's go Sony!" Summer cheered, dragging the poor blue haired boy to his doom.

"I want to live!" he cried out.

I chuckled at him. After a short pause, I remembered Shadow was to my right. He had his skates on and was ready to go.

"Have you ever skated before?" I asked, tilting my head. Glancing at me, Shadow scowled.

Knowing I wasn't going to get an answer from him, I walked towards the rink, Shadow behind me. Stepping on the ice, I smiled. _I loved the feeling of the cold around me. The calm and relaxing feeling of skating from one side of the ice to the other. _

_The way the light reflected off the ice and back at you, making you feel like you could fly. Fly like a bird in the- AHHHH!" _

I yelped in shock when Shadow stepped on the ice, instantly slipping and falling towards me.

Digging my skates into the ice, I managed to keep both of us up. Shadow's upper body leaned against mine as we stumbled to catch out balance.

"Sorry." he grumbled, grabbing a hold of the wall and lifting himself up. His bangs covered his eyes as he looked towards the ice below, shielding his eyes.

"N-No, it's okay." I stammered weakly, dazed by the sudden events. Watching him regain his composure, I look towards the ice.

"You can go skate if you want, I'll be fine." Shadow insisted, slowly looking up at me. There was something in Shadow's eyes that I didn't recognize, but I didn't mind it much.

"Okay." I nodded. Skating ahead a bit, I paused to turn back at him. "Lets go skate together later okay, Shadow?" I smiled, tilting my head.

Something flashed in Shadow's eyes and he quickly looked away. "….Right…" he grumbled. That was enough for me, and I continued forward. I wonder though, why did he look at me like that when I said his name?

After a few minutes of skating, I began to do several cross overs, practicing a bit for my up coming game next week. Maybe I should invite Shadow and the others?

Shadow probably wouldn't want to come though…. would he?

Shacking of the thought, I grinned, suddenly bursting into a sprint, heading towards the exit.

Looking to my left, I smiled at the scene of Niki holding Sonic and Knuckles hands, slowly skating with them. Both of the super powered teens seemed deeply concentrated at the tried to keep their balance.

As I headed towards the exit, I heard Summer yell to Shadow.

"Come on Shadow, that all you got!" Summer cackled evilly, shooting pass the elder ebony, who seemed to be having small trouble.

"You challenging me?" he growled.

Spinning around, Summer shrugged. "Maybe." she smirked.

With that, the two were off, shooting down the ice rink with all their might. Now that I think about it, I'm sure Shadow would have won instantly, if he wasn't having trouble keeping his balance.

Chuckling, I stepped off the rink to grab myself a drink. Once I had my drink, I leaned towards the glass, watching all the skaters skate by with a grin.

_I'm just glad everyone seems to be having fun. _

"This place, it wasn't here last time I visited." A voice came from behind me, causing me to jump in surprise.

"AH!" I screamed in shock, stumbling back and falling onto the ground.

The girl, surprised by my own reaction, leaned down to check if I was okay. "Are you all right?" she asked, tilting her head. Holding out her hand, I gladly took it.

"Y-Yeah, thanks." I said softly, getting to my feet. Pausing, I took a closer look at the girl. She was the little girl I met before. "Luna?"

Smiling, she nodded. "Hello Alexandra." she greeted.

"…H-Hi." I said softly, still a little dazed from seeing her so soon. "W-What are you doing here? Are you here with some friends?"

Looking towards the ice rink, Luna's face was expressionless. "It's confidential."

Flinching, I nodded. "Okay." I mumbled. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, I was a stranger to this girl, so she probably didn't want to say anything personal to me. "Are you, having fun?" I tried again.

"Fun?" Pausing to think, Luna stared around the room. "Yes, yes I am. This place is very energetic."

I grinned, happy she too was enjoying herself. "I really, really love this place." I admitted, looking out towards the ice.

Glancing at me, Luna blinked. "How come?"

"How come?" I repeated. "Well, because…. it's the place where my first wish ever came true."

Her eyes shining like stars, Luna grinned. "Wish? What sort of wish?" she giggled excitedly. I guess since she was only 10, she was excited when it came to wishing. At least, so I thought.

Feeling my face burn a crimson red, I stammered, "W-Well, it's sort of embarrassing and childish now that I think about it."

"None sense, what was it?" Luna pushed on.

Rubbing the back of my neck I shrugged. "I wished… to make some friends. I wasn't very good at making them when I was little. I'm still not very good at it. I made a wish though to make friends, even just one. Then, the next thing I know, I ran into that girl, right over there." I pointed forward. Luna followed my finger all the way to Summer, who was still shooting around the ice rink. "Summer." I grinned. "First friend I ever had. Though she barreled me into the ice the first time we met." I chuckled, covering my mouth at the memory.

Luna blinked, staring at Summer with wide eyes. "I see. So you are happy with the wish that was granted for you." Luna smiled.

I blinked. "…Yeah, I am." I nodded.

**Tada! I'm done! I must admit to everyone *blush* I'm a bit of a sonadow fan. I'm a fan of all pairings honestly. I hope none of you were upset that I mentioned Sonadow in here. Don't worry though, there won't be ANY Sonadow in this fanfic. ^_^ **


	10. Important announcement! Please read!

**THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT, SO PLEASE READ!**  
Okay everyone who reads this story! If you're fans of Alex, Niki, Shadow, Knuckles, Sonic, and the rest of the gang, then you might be happy to hear this.

As some of you might of might not know, I have a DeviantArt account. My profile on DeviantArt is also called Allie Jenzie, so I wont be too hard to find.

Anyway, the point at hand. If any of you love this story, go to by DeviantArt page.

I have made a comic on this story! That's right, you'll be able to see what Niki, Alex, and Summer all look like. The same goes for Shadow, Sonic and Knuckles in human form. (Even Luna, the newest character Starry, and many more!)

The comic is of course called 'Huh?' I'm not very far in the comic but will make constant updates. So I ask- no, I beg you! Please check out my comic, tell me how you think, and of course, REVIEW! PLEASE!

That is all.

And for some who are wondering, don't worry, the next chapter of this story will be up soon. :D

Thank you very much!

Signed,

Allie Jenzie


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the long wait everyone! Man, I'm really making things difficult for myself. When I get to this chapter in the comic, it will be a little hard to draw ^-^'. Oh well, this chapter was fun to write. I tried to make it long too. So sorry if there are any spelling mistakes. **

"You cheater!" Summer yelled, kicking her legs frantically trying to escape.

"You hit me first." I said calmly, smirking.

"Blasphemy! Niki, Alex is a cheater!" Summer whined.  
Niki let out a sigh, staring at us like we were idiots.

At the moment, Summer and me were playing Mario Kart on GameCube.

Summer had tried to cheat by hitting my shoulder. I got her back by tackling her, and sitting on her back, trapping her under me. Since she was on the ground, she couldn't see the screen very well, or control her Kart easily.  
"Cheating!" she screamed angrily.

"What are you two doing?' Sonic questioned, entering the room.  
"Sony! Help a girl out! Get this cheater off of me!" Summer begged, holding her hand out to Sonic.

Sonic blinked and quickly backed out of the room.  
"Sony you jerk! Don't just abandon me!" Summer cried.

Niki and me laughed. After a while I finally got off of Summer who was glad to be free.

"I'm not playing anymore." Summer threw the controller to the ground with a pout.  
"That means I win!" I cheered.  
"Shut up." Summer muttered. Jumping to her feet Summer started towards the kitchen. "Food!" she cheered. Niki and me sighed, but followed. "Hey Sony, you going to that field trip tomorrow?' Summer asked as she opened the fridge to grab some Turkey and Mayo.

"Oh, the Field Trip." Sonic, who was already eating a Turkey sandwich, said. "Yeah I guess." He nodded. "You going?" Sonic looked at Knuckles.  
"Got nothing better to do." Knuckles shrugged.

Summer grinned, "Yay! Field trips!" She paused. "Alex, where are we going again on the field trip?"

"That forest outside of town. Something about getting to know the outdoors." I shrugged.  
"Yeah. I heard there is going to be a scavenger hunt too." Niki added.  
"Awesome! Hey, maybe you two will get paired up with some boys and finally get some dates." Summer smirked at us.

We both glared at her.

"Dates?" Knuckles looked up, mainly towards Niki.

"Yeah, for the Timber Festival, which I shall remind you, is in 4 days." Summer looked towards us.  
"You have no room to talk Summer." I reminded her. "You don't have a date either."

"I can get a date easily though, unlike you two." Summer folded her arms.

"A date?" Sonic mumbled, taking a bit of his sandwich. "Do we need one?" he whispered to Knuckles, who shrugged.

"Right." We sighed.

"Field trip?" I let out a gasp in surprise when someone appeared behind me, stating the question.

"Shad-!" I paused realizing that Summer still didn't know his real name yet. "D-Don't sneak up on me like that!" I yelled in surprise.

Shadow looked down at me, smirking a bit.  
"There is a field trip tomorrow Shad. You going?" Summer grinned.

"Why would I?" he scowled, folding his arms.  
"I dunno, cause if you don't you have to go to school, and school is boring." Summer shrugged, folding her arms behind her head.

Shadow scowled in annoyance.

"And." Shadow looked at Summer, who smirked. "You know, there could be some weirdo's there."

Shadow blinked.

"Weirdo's?" Niki and me asked.  
"Yeah, like some stalker who follows you home and kidnaps you in the middle of the night!" Summer warned, leaning towards us and wiggling her fingers in our faces.

Niki, who could be easily scared if motivated enough, gulped. "Y…You don't think there will be weirdo's there, right Alex?" she laughed nervously.

"Of course not." I glared at Summer.  
"Oh but Alex, weirdo's are everywhere! They may just snatch you up while you're at the field trip." She warned, sending Shadow an odd look.

Shadow flinched, glaring back at her.

"Plus you guys will be alone with only one other person. So what happens if you two get jumped by a whole group of weirdo's. You wouldn't stand a chance." Summer sighed, shacking her head.  
"Keh!" Niki and me cried in fear, holding onto each other.  
"So Shad," Summer suddenly changed the subject. "You going?" a large smirk curled across her face.

Shadow scoffed, but glanced at me for some reason. "I have nothing better to do." He shrugged.

I beamed. "So you'll go?" I tilted my head in excitement.

"Might as well." He grumbled, looking away.

"Yeah! Full field trip!" Summer cackled, pumping her fist in the air.

-Later-

I sighed. How did I end up down here again?

After waking up at 2:00 in the morning, I made my way down stairs and out onto the porch, where I was currently seated and watching the stars.

"Don't be a coward… Alex." I told myself softly.

I didn't want to admit it, but I was a little afraid of tomorrow now. What if what Summer said came true? What if I was kidnapped by weirdo's!

I mentally screamed.

"What are you doing?" someone scoffed behind me.

Looking over my shoulder I was surprised to see Shadow behind me, standing by the door.  
"Oh uh… I was just…" I stumbled over my words nervously.

"You weren't planning on going on a walk in the middle of the night by yourself again, were you?" Shadow grumbled, folding his arms.  
"N-Not this time." I laughed nervously. "I just wanted some air." Looking forward, I stared back out into the night sky.

Shadow slowly walked forward and sat on the porch next to me. "Are you troubled?"

"Eh!" I gasped, surprised that he noticed. "N-No way, not at all." I quickly lied.

"You're lying."

I flinched. _How could he always tell?_ "H-How did you tell?" I slowly asked, looking down at my feet.

"Your smile looks fake." He answered simply.

My smile? What did that mean? Do I smile differently when I'm upset? I guess so.

"I see." I said softly.

"Is it what Summer said?" Shadow glanced towards me, his frown still plastered on his face. He was always frowning wasn't he? Did he even like it here?

He never seems happy here, but then again, he was naturally always frowning, so how were you suppose to tell when he was happy?

Back to the matter at hand though. I couldn't tell him what I was feeling! I would seem like a coward.

"…" I pulled my legs up to my chest. "Not really." I lied again.

Shadow left the subject at that, deciding not to speak anymore.  
I on the other hand, had a question that I wanted to ask. Something that had been bubbling in the back of my head for a very long time.  
"Hey Shadow." I said slowly.

He looked at me. "Um… Can I ask you something?"

After a short pause, he nodded.

"Do you, like it here?" I asked slowly.

"What?" he questioned, scowling at me.  
"I-I mean-!" I panicked, going into rambling mode. "You just never seem happy so I thought it was because you didn't like it here. Or you didn't like this house, or Niki, or…" I froze. "O-Or… or me." I stumbled over the last part.

Shadow stared at me for a long time before turning his gaze to the stars. When he did not answer I looked up to the sky with him.

Why did you ask that question? You big idiot.

"I don't hate it here." A soft voice admitted. My eyes widened as I turned back to him.

"You don't?" I whispered.

He nodded again, rising to his feet. "So don't stay down." He commanded, reaching his hand out to me.

"Gack!" I gasped as he hit my head. "W-What was that for-" I froze when he place his hand on my head comfortingly.

"If you get into trouble tomorrow, just call for me." Shadow grumbled, looking away from my gaze. With that, he pulled his hand away and retreated back into the house.

I slowly smiled. "Thank you… Shadow." I whispered softly.

-Bus-

"Field trip! Field trip! Field Trip!" Sonic and Summer chanted from the back. "Bus driver go faster! This bus is going so slow~!" Sonic whined, wanting to get to the forest as fast as he could.

"Yeah!" Summer laughed. Sonic and Summer grinned at one another.  
"Those idiots." Niki sighed.  
"Summer, Sony! Stop disturbing everyone!" I snapped angrily when they began to jump up and down in their seats.  
"But Alex!" they whined in unison.

"No buts!" I growled.

"Che, how cold hearted." Summer folded her arms at me.

Sonic laughed at her. Instantly better, she grinned back.  
"Field trip!" they chanted again

Niki shook her head at the two. Leaning back on her chair, she looked at Knuckles.

He currently had his arms folded and staring out the window.

"Knuck." She said with a smile, catching his attention. "Excited?"  
"Not really." He shrugged. "I mean, a scavenger hunt doesn't sound so fun."

"That's only if you make it boring." Niki argued, leaning towards him, and poking his shoulder. "Do funny things while you're at it, and it will be fun!"

"Funny things?" Knuckles questioned, raising and eyebrow.  
"Yeah, like um… dance while you look for things. Or sing a song, Opera style!" Niki urged on.

"Haha! That's so much fun to do!" Summer called from her seat.  
"Right?" Niki beamed.

Knuckles laughed at the too.  
"Oh? What are you laughing at?" Niki questioned playfully.

"N-Nothing." Knuckles lied, covering his mouth.

"Eh?" Niki smooched her hands to her cheeks, making a fish face.

Knuckles began to laugh. "You look ridiculous!"

"Why you!" Niki smirked, reaching out to grab his shoulders. "Don't laugh at me." She began to poke his sides, tickling him.  
"S-Sorry. Sorry!' he laughed, grinning widely. (Thought of this while watching Sonic X Episode 52 :D)

I smiled at them. The bus sure was chaotic right now. Everyone was chatting, screaming, or just being idiots.

However, Shadow wasn't like that at all. He was calmly staring out the window, his arms crossed. I smiled at him.

He always had such a cool and collected character.

I blinked when the bus suddenly stopped.

"Ah! We're here!" I grinned at Shadow, who nodded.

-Later-

"Alright everyone, we will be splitting up into groups. Come and grab a paper to see who you are with." The teacher held out a hat filled to the top with names. One by one half of the class walked up to the hat, and took a name.

After grabbing my piece I unrolled it to look at the name.  
"Summer." I read slowly.  
"Hey! Ax!" Summer laughed, hearing me say her name. "You got my name right? Right? We're partners!" Summer laughed, obviously over joyed by the news. "To bad for you though. You're chances of a date are depleting slowly but surely." Summer smirked. She yelled in shock when I hit her in the head.

"Shut up." I hissed.

"So cruel!" Summer whined, holding her head.

Niki laughed at us. "Oh, and who did you get paired up with Niki." Summer frowned.

Niki blinked, looking around at the class. "I don't know."

"Nikolet KuroBara." A voice began to cackle. Niki flinched, knowing the voice all to well.  
"God no." she begged, slowly turning around. Adam Klene stood behind her, smirking widely. Adam, Niki's ex-boyfriend. (I mention him in chapter 1)

"Looky, looky." Adam laughed, holding up the paper with Niki's name on it.

All of use stared at the paper in shock.  
"You have got to be kidding me." Niki muttered softly.

"That's bad luck if any." Summer said slowly.

Adam laughed. "Well, lets head off… Nikolet."

"Don't call me that!" Niki yelled angrily, storming passed him.

Adam was about to walk after her, when Summer and me grabbed his arm.

"Touch her…. And you die." We both hissed, our voices livid.

Adam scowled, pulling away. "Calm down you divas." He muttered walking after Niki.

"Hate him." Summer stated simply when he was out of sight.

"Agreed." I nodded.

"Oh Shad!" my ears perked up at the sound of Shadow's fake name. Looking over my shoulder I saw Brittney Mieres running up to Shadow, shoving a paper in his face.

"We're teamed up." She giggled loudly.

Shadow blinked at the paper, slowly looking at me. I flinched at his sudden gaze.

I gulped and gave him an encouraging smile. A little surprised by my look, Shadow looked away, back at Brittney.  
"Seems so." He mumbled.

"Lets go!" Brittney giggled, grabbing him by the arm to pull him away. I swear I thought I saw her look over her shoulder at me, smirking like she had won the lottery. I flinched.

"Sh…" I wanted to call out to him, but he was already leaving, looking over his shoulder at me.

I lifted my hand up to wave goodbye to him, but I don't think he saw it since he entered the crowd.

"Well." Summer interrupted my thoughts. "We better get moving."

"Oh, right." I nodded, following after her.

"See ya Sony! Knuck!" Summer grinned as we passed them. Knuckles had been paired up with Sam, while Sonic had been paired up with Ben.

"See ya." They waved to us.

"We're off!" Summer suddenly burst into a sprint.  
"H-Hey! Wait up!" I whined, running after her. "I hope everyone has fun." I thought, a little worried.

-Later that day, with Shadow-

"Oh Shad! Look I found the clue!" Brittney cheered, holding up the piece of paper. Brittney paused when she saw Shadow wasn't paying attention and instead was staring down the hill.

Walking up to him, she stared down the hill as well. She scowled at the sight of Alex and Summer coming out from behind some trees.  
"This way Ax!" Summer laughed, marching forward. Alex, who was distracted by the scenery, nodded absentmindedly.

"Sure." She mumbled.

"Alex, watch out for the trees." Summer warned over her shoulder.

"Huh?" Alex snapped out of her daze just in time to run into a tree. "Gah!" she gasped, falling back and landing on her butt.

Summer burst into laughter at the sight. "Moron, what are you doing, dazing out like that!" she laughed, running to help Alex up.  
"Stupid trees!" Alex whined, rubbing her slightly bruised forehead.  
"You're the stupid one." Summer corrected with a grin, grabbing Alex by the arm to help her op. Both of them paused when some of the leaves fell from the tree along with a single piece of paper.

"Ax! You're stupidity found a clue!" Summer gasped, snatching the paper from the air. After looking at each other, the two began to cheer.  
"Awesome!"

Brittany scoffed at Alex's stupidity. "What an air head." She muttered.  
"Seriously…" Brittney paused when Shadow spoke, a small smile pulling at his lips. "What is that idiot doing? Spacing out like usual." Shadow said softly.

Brittney's eyes widened at the sight of Shadow's smile. He never smiled that to anyone before. Why was Alex so special?

Brittney held in a growl of frustration and she glared towards Alex. "Shadow!" she tried again, forcing a smile on her face.  
Shadow blinked, his smile disappearing as he turned to her. "What?" he questioned.

"I found a clue. Amazing right?" She smiled, holding the paper out to him.  
"It's not that bid of a deal." he frowned, snatching the paper from her hand to look over it. Brittney flinched, angered once again at how nice Shadow treated Alex and not her.

-Sonic-

"Uh… left?" Sonic questioned, looking at his partner.  
"I guess." Ben shrugged with a nervous grin. "I'm not that good a directions man."

"Don't worry about it, neither am I." Sonic laughed.  
"Then I guess we're probably going to lose." Ben chuckled.  
"Probably." Sonic nodded.

"Yeah." Ben sighed.

-Knuckles-

"I told you we shouldn't have taken their advice. You're to gullible." Sam yelled angrily at Knuckles.  
"Am not!" Knuckles argued.

"Are too!"

"How was I supposed to know that they were lying?" Knuckles demanded.

"Because this is like a competition! Would you tell someone else where to go if you were trying to win?" Sam questioned.

"Well… maybe!" Knuckles yelled.

-Summer and me-

"Summer, where are we even going?" I sighed, trailing behind her.

"It stands to reason Alex that if we continue down this path, we will eventually reach the end of the forest." Summer grinned.  
"Don't we want to STAY in the forest though?" I question. "We've gone past the marking lines. None of the clues will be near here."

"Please Alex, we're not looking for those silly clues." Summer scoffed.  
"Then what are we looking for!' I demanded.  
"You'll know when we get there." Summer grinned over her shoulder.

Pausing, I stared at her in shock. "You're…. insane." I shook my head.

"Just noticed?" Summer cackled, jumping up on a few stones.

Letting out another sighed, I jumped after her.

-Niki and Adam-

Silence filled the air as the two walked through the forest, heading towards the next clue.  
"So, I hear your sister and you have some exchange students living in your house." Adam smirked, glancing over at her.

"Yeah, what about them?" Niki muttered, glaring ahead. Ever since she broke up with Adam she had hated being around him. The way he tried to treat her annoyed her to no end.

"A little odd that you have so many boys living with you." Adam smirked.  
"Well they are actually really nice, unlike SOME boys I know." Niki growled, glaring at Adam angrily before storming ahead.

"What's your problem?" Adam scowled.

"Oh I don't know. Maybe you are my problem." Niki stated, reaching for her headphones.  
"What does that mean?"  
"You figure it out!" Lifting her head phones up and smacked them against her ears, she turned the music up to high.

"Hey! Niki! Are you listening!" Adam called to her, running after her.

Niki began to sing along to her song, ignoring Adam's call.

"Tch." Adam scowled. "Annoying girl." He muttered.

"SUMMER!" I screamed in fear as I clung desperately to the side of the tree.

"Come on Alex, just a little higher." Summer encouraged from above.

"Why are we even climbing a tree anyway?" I cried, staring down towards the ground. Not really my best idea. "We're so high!"

"We're not that high you baby. I mean, if you so happened to fall from this height I'm sure you would get pretty injured, but I don't think you would die." Summer shrugged.

"That doesn't really help!" I snapped at her. With a smirk she shrugged and continued upward.  
"You can go down if you want, but I need to get to the top." Summer concluded.  
"Why?" I demanded.

Summer flinched, slowly looking down at me with a nervous smile.  
I blinked, knowing that smile all to well. "We're lost… aren't we?" I sighed.

"Yes, yes we are." She nodded.

"SUMMER!" I screeched angrily, causing the birds from near by trees to scramble for their lives.

"Don't panic, I just need to get a look around, that's all." She laughed nervously, continuing her way up.

"Well you can keep going, I'm going down." I concluded, slowly making my way down the tree.  
"Baby!" she called.

"Shut up!"

-Sonic and Ben-

Sonic's ears twitched at the sound of voices to his left. "You hear that?" He asked. After traveling for a while with Ben, the two had officially gotten lost.  
"Yeah, sounds like some of the other students." Ben nodded, looking in the direction Sonic was looking.

"SUMMER!" Alex's angered voice echoed through the trees.

Sonic's eyes beamed. "Must be Summer and Alex." He concluded.

"Maybe they know which way to go." Ben grinned.

"Definitely!" Sonic began in the direction. Knowing Alex, she would help them.

"Lets go!" Ben followed after him, happy to have some help. For a moment, he thought they would be trapped in that forest forever.

-Knuckles and Sam-

"Okay, here is another clue. We should start heading that way." Sam pointed to the right. Knuckles followed his finger, but blinked in surprise when he saw Niki passing by a few of the trees.  
"Niki?"

"Did you see a friend?" Sam questioned, looking over his shoulder at him.

"Yeah." Knuckles nodded, running to catch up with her.

"H-Hey! Wait!" Sam ran after him. "We're going the wrong way." He sighed.

Knuckles ignored him. He was about to call out to Niki when another boy appeared at Niki's side.

"Nikolet." He whined, poking her shoulder.  
"Don't mess with me Adam." She hissed angrily. "I'm not in the mood."

"Come on Nik don't be like that." Adam tried to put his arm over her shoulder.  
Slapping his hand away, Niki glared at him. "I said no!" Niki stormed forward, leaving an angered Adam, who followed after her.

"_Who is that guy?" _Knuckles thought darkly, narrowing his eyes.  
"Hey Knuck, why are we following these two?" Sam whispered.

"Shut up." Knuckles ordered, peeking out from behind the tree to follow Niki and Adam. Sam sighed, deciding not to question it.

-Summer and Alex ALEX POV-

"Hey Alex, you know what I just thought about." Summer called down from the top of the tree as she stared around at the forest.  
"What?" I called from the bottom with a sigh.

"How did the teachers think this field trip was a good idea? I mean, this forest isn't very big, but people could still get lost. And kids could get hurt, or eaten by something! There aren't even teacher with us to make sure we don't get in trouble." Summer began to laugh.

"Summer I…" I paused. Wait a minute, how did they think this was a good idea? We we're lost ourselves!

"Yeah I'm just not sure how well this plan was thought through." Summer shrugged.

"Right on." I nodded, pumping my fist in the air. "Now come down from there before you attract an eagle or whatever." I ordered.

"Okay!" Summer began her decent down the tree.

"Be careful now, you're pretty high up." I warned.  
"I know, I know." Summer mumbled, reaching a lower branch below her with her foot. When her foot touched it, she pressed her weight on it, reaching for the next lowest branch.

As I watched her climb down, I couldn't help but feel something off about this.

**Snap**

My eyes widened in horror. "Summer the branch!" I screamed.

It was too late, the branch Summer was standing on snapped in half, and she fell out of balance.  
"Ah-!" Summer fell backwards, towards the ground.  
"SUMMER!"

"So….ny…." Summer gasped as she fell.

_This can't be happening! If Summer falls at that height she'll-_

I never finished that thought. A blue blurr had distracted me.

"Summer!"

"Son-" Before I could stutter something jumped into the air, wrapping it's arms around Summer's falling form. The two fell to the ground, safely landing on the ground without a sound.

Summer, eyes shut tight, didn't notice they had made it to the ground without injury. Nor did she notice she was currently being held bride style by a boy with spiky blue hair and emerald green eyes.  
"Summer, you okay?" a soft voice asked, worried. Her eyes snapping open, Summer slowly looked up at her rescuer.

"Sony?" she breathed softly.

"You're okay." Sonic grinned.

"Sony you… b-but how? I-"

"You're safe now, that is all that matters." Sonic carefully placed Summer on the ground, checking her arms and legs for any injured. "Ah, you're knee." He pointed to her knee, which has been scratch by a tree branch as she fell.

"It's…. nothing." Summer, who was still baffled, mumbled.

"Summer!" I screamed, running up and hugging the girl with all my might. "I told you to be careful! Idiot!"

"A-Alex… sorry." She apologized, patting my back.

"Jeez, you scared me half to death." I sighed pulling away. I glanced at Sonic, who grinned.  
"R-Right." Summer still sounded a little shaky.

"Hey! Sony that was amazing!" Ben suddenly appeared from the left, running up to us, out of breath. "I mean, you were just like a blurr…" he paused to catch his breath. "You should… do out for track." He chuckled, shacking his finger at Sonic.

Sonic laughed, patting Ben on the back.

I smiled at them, then back to Summer, who was still staring at Sonic in shock.

_Uh-oh, this looks bad. That look, it's her thinking look! She hasn't realized right? Right! No, she couldn't have. There is no way she would even come to the conclusion Sonic is Sonic the Hedgehog. Well… then again, Summer thinks of even stranger thinks. Oh god, she does now then doesn't she! What am I going to do! Wait no, calm down Alex. She hasn't realized, so just calm down._

I came back to reality when Summer suddenly ran past me, to Sonic. "Summer?" I looked over my shoulder after her.

Sonic heard me say her name, and looked up just in time to see Summer's face before she embraced him. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she hugged him tightly.

Ben and me gawked in shock, staring at the two in surprise.  
"S-Summer?" Sonic blinked, glancing at her, trying to see her face, which she hid in his shoulder.

"Thank you." She mumbled. "Really, thanks. I thought… I was a gonner there." Summer chuckled dryly. Sonic blinked in surprise.

"Summer." I whispered softly.

"I-It was no problem, really." Sonic placed his left hand on Summer's back, patting it soothingly. "I mean, call me crazy, but for a moment while you were falling, I thought I heard you… call my name." With his right hand, Sonic rubbed the back of his head, his cheeks a tint of red. "Weird, huh?"

Summer flinched, instantly pulling away from Sonic. "Yeah that's weird!" she laughed. "I mean, you really surprised me there Sony. You just snatched me out of the air… like a ninja!" she gawked at him.

Sonic laughed. "Ninja?"

"Yeah, you were super cool like a ninja too!" Summer nodded.

After some laughs, I stared at the two for a long time. A small smile crept over my face. _Thank goodness. Thank you, Sonic. _

_If you hadn't shown up, I don't know what I would have done. Summer would have-_

I shook the thought out of my head. "Man, even as a human, you're still saving people Sonic." I whispered under my breath, grinning at him.

**And we end here! This chapter was long. 0.0 Perhaps my longest chapter for this story. ^_^ Just a reminder, if any of you liked this story, check out my DeviantArt account (Allie Jenzie) to see the comic version of this story. :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**We last left our heroes in the forest right outside of town. After many trials, some have rejoined for their fight against evil. Can these youngsters friendship save-**

Summer: Hold the phone! What crap is this?

Alex: It's the beginning introduction.

Summer: Since when did we have a beginning introduction?

Alex: Well the author thought that it would be a good idea to recap what happened in the last chapter.

Summer: So she got some bloody foreigner with a deep voice to do it?  
Alex: Foreigner? He's the guy who lives down the street. And 'Bloody?"

Summer: Toby? Toby never had a voice that deep! (Toby was in chapter 5)

**Hey guys, can I finish this up?**

Summer: No you may not! I'm not finish ranting yet! What are you even talking about anyway Toby? There weren't any trials, and we're not heroes who fight against evil.

Alex: …Sort of

Summer: What?

Alex: Nothing

**Alright, if you think you can do it any better, you give it a go**

Summer: I will! Okay everyone, last time on 'Huh?" the scavenger hunt began, and everyone got split up into teams. Some with people they didn't exactly like. There were a lot of random scenes, but the main important thing is that Sony was a ninja and saved me from falling to my death. That's about all that really matters, so start reading the next chapter!

Alex: -_- I have to finish though.  
Summer: CURSE YOU ALEX!

Alex: Don't blame me! I just have to say a quick note from the Author. Everyone, if you read this, please read the message at the bottom. The author has a very important question to ask you all. Thank you all for your time, and hope you enjoy the chapter!

Summer: Finally! Begin the chapter! :D

**I better still get paid for this -_-**

-The Story begins-

"So what are you girls doing out this far anyway?" Ben asked, tilting his head.

We both flinched. "We got lost." We admitted softly.

"Ah." Ben blinked. "So did we!"

Sonic began to laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "Yup."

Summer grinned. "Well, there is no need to fear, for Summer is here!" Summer began to laugh victoriously.

"What are you so happy for?" I questioned.

"See, while I was up in that tree I got a good view of the forest. We're actually super close to where we were headed before. " Summer grinned. "Then of course you know I fell off that tree…" She looked towards Sonic, who stared back. "But then I caught myself." She smirked

Sonic blinked. "You did not. I caught you!" he grinned playfully, elbowing her in the side.

"What? You catch me? No way!" She joked back, elbowing him back. "I mean, you have such flabby arm muscles, so there is no way you could even hope to catch me out of the air." Summer grabbed Sonic's arm, shacking it.

Sonic grinned, taking that as a challenge. "Oh?"

Summer chuckled taking a step back.

"Really now! Really!" Sonic began to jab and poke at her sides. Summer laughed, trying to swat his nimble hands away.

"Stop it…. You know my sides are ticklish!" Summer cackled.

Sonic grinned, "I know. It's one of your weaknesses!" He jabs her side again.

"Kah!' she yelled, stabbing him in the gut.

Sonic cackled along with her, his stomach is own weak spot. (Note: Hedgehogs have quills covering their whole back. But they have a soft under belly. Their main weakness. ^_^)

I stared at them, a small smile on my face. They were such good friends. They almost seemed like a couple if people didn't know them. After a while I let my voice be known.

"Where are we headed anyway Summer?"  
"Secret! Now come on, all of you. This way!' she began to march deeper into the forest. We could do nothing but follow.

**-Niki-**

Niki sighed for the 19th time that day. She was starting to think they were lost. She shivered at the thought of being lost in the woods with Adam forever. Not a happy thought. She would much rather be lost in the woods forever with Knuckles.

Realizing she was thinking about Knuckles, she blushed.  
"What are you turning red for?" Adam scowled.  
"None of your business, noisy jerk." She instantly snapped, making him blink in surprise.

"What's your problem?" he demanded, grabbing her arm to force her to stop. "All you've done this whole time is yell and scream at me. Do you hate me that much?"

"Yes! I do. What you did Adam, it hurt. I mean, we hadn't even been dating that long but you tried to cheat on me? With my sister? She didn't even like you that way!" Niki screamed.

Adam frowned.

"Did you even ever really like me, for me? Or was it just to get close to Alex?" Niki's voice became soft, almost a whisper. After a small staring contest between the two, Niki turned away. "Never mind." She hissed.

"Niki wait-!" he grabbed her arm again.

"Leave me alone!" Niki screeched, trying to pull away.  
"I said wait. Just give me a minute to-"

"I said no!"

Before the argument could go any further, someone grabbed Adam's arm, pulling him away.

"What the-" Adam flinched at the grip on his arm. Looking over his shoulder, he was surprised to see an angered red head.

"She said to leave her alone." Knuckles hissed darkly, his voice livid.

"Knu-"

"Knuck!" Sam came running up from behind him, looking shocked.

After a while, Knuckles released Adam, instantly turned to Niki. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah." She nodded quickly. "Thanks."

Adam rubbed his sore wrist with a frown. "Forget this." He muttered turning away. "You're on your own Niki!" He called over his shoulder, disappearing into the forest.

Sam tried to call for him to stop, but his words didn't reach Adam. With a sigh he looked at Knuck. "Nice going man." He nodded, patting his back. "You alright Niki?"

"Yeah, thanks Sam. What are you two doing here anyway?" how did they manage to find her?

"Oh see Knuck was following you-"

Knuckles slammed his palm over Sam's mouth, his face red. "W-We were just passing by." He insisted, sending Sam a death glare that could literally kill.

Niki frowned, but decided not to question it. "I see. Well you really saved me there. Adam, what a jerk." She folded her arms, shacking her head.  
"I guess all ex's are." Sam agreed, finally freeing himself from Knuckle's death grip.

"Ex?" Knuckles asked.  
Niki flinched, realizing she hadn't told Knuckles yet. "Yeah, he used to be my boyfriend." She mumbled, kicking a rock by her feet. Knuckles eyes went wide, a frown pulling at his lips.

"Oh." He grumbled, not looking very pleased as he stared off towards the direction Adam had just disappeared.

Niki chuckled, embarrassed. "Anyway, if it wouldn't be too much of a bother, is it okay if I join your team Knuck, Sam? My partner as you can tell ditched me." Niki smirked.

Sam chuckled. "It's fine with me. Knuck?"

Knuckles, momentarily forgetting his fake name, looked at them. "Oh yeah of course. It's cool." He nodded with a smile.

-**Summer, Alex, and Sonic-**

"Summer…. Where are we going?" Ben sighed, trudging beside me.  
"I'd like to know too please." I whined.

Summer, leading the pack, scowled "We'll get there shortly, keep moving slaves!"

"Slaves!" we yelled angrily.

Sonic laughed.

"You're right I'm sorry. You're not slaves, your more like lackeys." Summer concluded, grabbing her chin and nodding her head.

**SWACK!**

"Ow!' Summer whined after Ben and me swatted her head. "I think it's a bad thing you found a friend Alex!" she whined.

I smirked, giving Ben a high five. He grinned back at me. Ben was a nice guy. I've had a few classes with him ever since we were freshman.

It was strange, I had known him for so many years but I had never actually got to know him. I didn't know anything about him other than he was really good at science and math. I took this little detour as my chance.

I began to talk with Ben as we followed Summer who knows where. He turned out to be a really cool guy. He was an only child and lived with only his mom since he father passed away a few years ago. He worked a few jobs to support his mom and loved hockey!

He even asked if he could come to one of my hockey games sometime. It was nice to have a new friend.

Seems he wasn't good at making friends either.

"Psstt!" I paused from my conversation when I heard someone whisper to me. Looking forward I saw Summer motioning for me to come closer.

"Um… be right back." I smiled at Ben before running up to her. "What?"

Summer's lips curled upward into a devious smirk. "You two seem to get along well."

I flinched, knowing that look all to well. "Yeah, and…?" I mumbled.

"Ask him to the Timber festival!" Summer whispered in my ear.

"What? Why?' I demanded, jumping back.  
"Because!" she whined, realizing she had to be quiet and lowered her voice, glancing back at Ben who had begun to talk with Sonic. "You haven't asked anyone yet and you're running out of time."

"Who says I want to even go to the Timber Festival. Why do we even call it a festival anyway? It is a dance! It should be called prom, like it is suppose to be!" I ranted.

"Oh don't question our schools weird antics Alex." Summer scolded softly. "And you're going to the Timber Festival. I will tie you up and drag you there if I have to."

I sighed. "Why?"

"Because this is our last year of high school. I haven't gone to any of the school dances yet through all of our years of high school and neither have you. You also haven't gone on a single date all your life, so this could be good experience for you." Summer folded her arms. "Besides…" Summer looked down at her feet, suddenly embarrassed, which was odd for her. "I don't want to go to the dance alone… so you should go with me on a double date to the Timber Festival."

I blinked, a little surprised. "Huh? I slouched forward, confused.

"A double date Alex!" She whispered angrily. "When one couples goes somewhere with another couple! So you need to find a date so you can go with me and my date!"

"You need to find a date first." I pointed out.

"You need one way more then I do! I actually know how to talk to people unlike you, so this whole date thing is a piece of cake for me!' Summer winked, full of confidence.

I glared at her, not liking this idea. I slowly looked towards Ben. He was a nice guy and all, but I wasn't sure if I liked him that way, even just a little.

What does that mean? 'To like someone that way?' Did it mean to love someone? I definitely didn't love Ben. I didn't love anyone in that way. I wasn't even sure what love was even like! How were you supposed to know you were in love anyway?

"Summer, I can't just ask any guy I meet to the Timber Festival."

Summer let out an exhausted sigh and walked around in a small circle around me. "Alex, Alex, Alex." She grumbled, shacking her head disappointedly at me. "Then who will you ask Alex? You have to talk to guys to get to know them. You have to ask them out to see if you like them. You have to date them to see if you love them. See where I am going with this?" she leaned towards me, waving her hands in my face.

"Yeah I see." I pushed her hands away, folding my arms. Summer began to pace back and forth in front of me.

"I mean, if its whether you know them well enough or not then you might as well ask Shad then!" Summer groaned.

I blinked. "S…Shad?" I asked slowly.

"Yeah. You've known him for a while. You seem to get along with him fine too." Summer began to mutter to herself. "Though I probably wouldn't approve you two going out together. I mean, he could be a nice guy. But he is too suspicious. Like he's hiding something big from everyone. Not to mention he's a jerk. Stupid Shad." She grumbled angrily. "You see where I am going with this Alex?" Summer looked up to me, yet got no reply. "…Alex?" She approached me slowly, waving her hand in front of my face. No reply. "And she's gone…" Summer sighed.

I was currently lost in my thought.

_G-Go out with Shadow! Would that even be possible? I mean, he's a hedgehog- well he's a human right now, but he was originally a hedgehog! He isn't even supposed to be real actually. Do we really get along well? I mean, I think I'm just a giant klutz around him. I always mumble and go off on giant rants too! _

_But… recently, there have been a lot of times he's been super nice to me. He always seems to know what's troubling me and when I'm lying. _

_Like yesterday…_

I felt my cheeks heat up at the thought.

_Shadow had been so nice. He even said I could call for him if I got into trouble. Though now that I think about it that probably wouldn't help anyway even if I did call for him. We're in a forest, though it's not really big, there is still no way he could hear me. Then again, he still has his super speed; he might still have that weird super hearing of his. I would have to ask him later. _

"ALEX!" Summer screamed in my ear

"AHHH!" I screamed in shock, falling to my knees. "W-What?" I gasped, my ears ringing.  
"Finally." Summer shook her head at me, staring down at me like I was an idiot. "You spaced out again."

Sonic and Ben chuckled at me from behind. I grinned nervously, stumbling to my feet and dusting my knees off.

"S-Sorry."

"Nah it's okay, lets just go." Summer pushed me forward.

**-Niki, Shadow, Sam-**

After almost and hour, Niki and her team had only one clue left to find. However, the small group had paused, a little shocked at the sight before them.

Minutes ago, the sound of singing reached their ears. The voice was soft, singing a very beautiful melody.

Niki's curiosity got the best of her, and she forced her group to follow her towards the voice. They were surprised when the found the beautiful voice came from none other then a child. A child that was sitting on top of a small boulder, singing out to the trees around her.

"Who… are you?" Niki blinked, staring at the child in shock.

The girl had long white hair that lead down her back, curling towards her waist. Her knee length white dress waved slightly in the wind as she stared at us. She must have been around the age of 12.

Why wasn't this girl wearing any shoes?

Her feet must hurt really bad, especially since she is in a forest where there are all sorts of things on the ground.

The girl paused from her song, realizing she had company. "Oh, hello there." She said with a smile.

"H…Hi." Niki slowly lifted a hand.

"Hey kid, what are you doing here? Where are your parents?" Sam asked, tilting his head.

The girl chuckled a bit. "That's classified!" Jumping of the little boulder, she walked up to Niki, bare feet and all. "My name is Luna." She announced.

Niki blinked. Wait a minute; Alex said something about a Luna, didn't she? That Luna was their new neighbor. She couldn't be the same girl though… could she?

"I'm Niki." She greeted. "Are you possibly… I mean, my sister Alex said she met a girl name Luna around your age."

"Oh yes, I know your sister. I am the same Luna, yes." She nodded.

"Oh!" Niki nodded. "So Alex hadn't just imagined that." Niki mumbled to herself. Since Alex always spaced out all the time, it was hard sometimes to believe whether or not Alex had imagined what she saw. A girl with white hair and no shoes seemed a little hard honestly. Niki was proven wrong though. "Well, it is nice to meet you Luna. These are my friends, Knuck and Sam."

Luna nodded to them. "Hello."

"Hey." Knuck nodded.

"Hi." Sam smiled, folding his arms.

Luna chuckled at them all, confusing them. "I have to go now. It was nice to meet you all. My friends are waiting for me. Good bye Sam, Knuckles, Nikolet." With that, Luna ran off, disappearing into the trees.

"What a weird girl." Niki said.

"Yeah. She didn't stick around too long either." Knuckles nodded.  
"Hopefully she doesn't get lost." Sam paused, looking towards Knuckles with an amused smirk. "She called you Knuckles man. Haha!" he laughed.

For a moment Knuckles didn't understand what was so funny, but the remembered his fake name was Knuck. "Oh yeah… ha-ha…" Knuckles forced out a fake laugh. He slowly froze though. How did that girl know his real name?

"Weird, right Niki?" Sam laughed as the two boys looked at Niki, who seemed to be in a daze.

"I don't…" Niki looked towards the spot Luna had just disappeared "I don't remember… telling her my full name." she murmured.

The boys looked at each other.

"I don't remember you saying it either." Sam agreed, rubbing his chin.  
"Maybe Alex told her." Knuckles suggested. Then again, that girl seemed to know his real name too. Something was oddly suspicious about this.  
"Yeah, that's probably it. Since she knows your sister and stuff." Sam grinned.

Niki slowly nodded, still not fully convinced. "Yeah, I guess." She shrugged. "Um… should we continue? We still have to find that final clue."

"Right!" Knuckles and Sam said, running forward. Niki laughed and ran after them.

_Luna. She seemed like such a strange girl. There was definitely something different about her. What was she doing here anyway?_

Pushing the thought of Luna to the back of her head, Niki laughed when Sam suddenly tripped Knuckles, enraging the redhead.

**-Others-**

Summer began to run. "Come everyone, we're almost there, just over there!" she sounded excited, so we all quickly followed.

Reaching the top of a small cliff like part of the forest, we were shocked by the sight before us. "Tada!" Summer cheered, holding her arms out.

Before us was a small cliff, looking over the whole forest, out towards the City.

"The city." I said breathlessly.

Summer grinned. "I found this spot when I was little. I come here a lot."

"It's so cool!" Ben cheered! Sonic stepped beside Summer in shock.

"Okay…" I sighed, deciding to admit defeat. "This was definitely worth the walk."

Grinning in triumph, Summer cheered, "Right!"

"How did you discover this place?" Sonic asked, looking at her.

"Ah… I sort of… got lost." Summer admitted, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Of course." I chuckled.

"Shut up! You know I'm not good with directions." Summer huffed, folding her arms.  
"Trust me, I know. Remember that time you were going to drive us to the mall?" I grinned.

Summer flinched. "That's so cheating bring that memory into play!" She accused!

"How so!" I demanded, folding my arms.  
"What? What happened?" Ben asked, interested.

"I let Summer drive us to the mall, but we ended up at the beach." I sighed, shacking my head.

"But… the beach is a 2 hour drive from here."

"Exactly!" I laughed.

"Shut up! I just took the wrong turn!" Summer pouted, turning away from the group.  
"You mean 'wrong turns?" Sonic smirked.

"Che, shut up Sony!" Summer punched his shoulder. Sonic took a step back, rubbing his shoulder.

"Okay! We make our leave!" Summer turned back towards the hill and began to run down it. "Last on to the meeting spot is a rotten egg!"

"Hey Summer, we shouldn't run!" I yelled to her.

"You're on Summer!" Sonic ran after her.  
"Sony!" I scolded.

"Haha!" Ben already began his decent down the hill.

"H-Hey! Wait for me!" I whined, running after them.  
"You're so slow Alex!" Summer laughed, reaching the bottom of the hill to dive into the trees. Sonic and Ben soon followed.

"Guys, wait!' I called, stumbling down the hill after them.

"You better hurry up Alex or you'll get left behind!" Summer laughed maniacally.

Trying to pick up the pace I gasped when I suddenly fell forward, rolling a bit down the hill. "Ow." Jumping to my feet I looked up to yell at the others to slow down, but they were gone. "Eh?"

I looked in all directions, but there was no trace in which direction they had gone. "G…Guys? Guys!" I called. Running forward I hopped I would catch up with them.

**-._.?-**

"Sony I swear, you're a cheater or something. I bet you are on steroids or something, cause no one should be able to run that fast." Summer breathed, punching his shoulder for the second time that day.

Sonic gave her a small chuckle, rubbing his now slightly soar shoulder. "Maybe you're just slow."

"No, you're definitely a speed demon." Ben hunched forward, trying to catch his breath. The two began to laugh as Ben fell to his knees, exhausted. "Remind me again why we had to race each other?"

"Because it's fun, right Alex?" Summer turned to a friend that was not there. "Eh? Alex?" Summer looked around the small clearing they had entered to see that there was not Alex to be found.

"Did she get lost?" Sonic suggested, staring around towards the trees.

"Maybe she's just trailing behind." Ben added, standing up.

"Hey! Alex!" Summer cupped her hands together, calling out into the forest. There was no reply. "She must have taken a different turn from us or something."

Sonic stepped forward. "Come on, lets go look for her. She can't be far."

The two nodded.

**-Little lost me-**

"Summer! Ben? Soni-y! Sony is what I meant! Sony?" I let out a sigh. Great, just great. I was lost!

Stumbling over the forest floor, I paused to lean against the trees. "Man… it's hot." Reaching into my bag, I was hoping to grab my water bottle. When I found none I let out a gasp of shock, remembering I has asked Summer to carry it for me. "Are you kidding me!" I sighed, falling to my knees. "And I'm so thirsty too. I hope I don't get dehydrated." Lifting my hand to my forehead, I look up to the sun. "…I'm alone right now…"

The forest seemed so much bigger suddenly.

Wrapping my arms around myself I shuffled forward, wanting to find everyone as soon as I could.

-**Summer, Sonic, Ben-**

"Alex! Where are you!" Summer cupped her hands together and held them to her mouth, screaming out my name.

"Alex?" Ben called, looking around.

"Ah, we really did lose her." Summer placed her hands on her hips.  
"Does she know the way back?" Sonic asked.  
"I don't think so." She shrugged.

"We should probably keep looking then." Ben concluded.  
Summer and Sonic nodded.

If only Sonic could use his speed to find her. He knew Alex wouldn't want him to reveal his abilities to the others though, so he would have to look with her like a normal human would.

"We better find her soon." Summer mumbled.  
"Why? Is there something wrong?" Ben asked, tilting his head.  
"Ah well… sort of." Summer shrugged. "I just don't want to leave Alex in the woods alone, ya know? I mean, that is dangerous. She could get hurt, or some weirdo could show up."

Ben nodded, understanding now. "That would be bad."

"Not to mention…" Summer's shoulders tensed and she rubbed the back of her head. Memories of yesterday came flashing into her head. "I sort of scared Alex a bit yesterday saying there could be weirdo's who would snatch her up." Summer said slowly.

Ben paused to stare at her. "Alex is almost 18 though. She is probably fine."

"I wouldn't say that." Summer said with a frown. "Alex, though she wont admit it, has never liked being alone." Summer began to laugh nervously. "So, knowing Alex… she is probably panicking."

Slowly looking forward, Ben heard Sonic let out a sigh.

"She might even be crying too…" Sonic concluded. The group froze. The thought of Alex's crying face, calling out for help, went seeping into their brains.

Similar thoughts of Alex being grabbed and taken away by weirdoes swept over their thoughts.

"W-We gotta find her fast." Summer mumbled.  
Sonic and Ben nodded vigorously.

**-Alex (Alex POV)-**

"Summer!" I cried desperately. "Summer where are you!"

"_Oh but Alex, weirdo's are everywhere! They may just snatch you up while you're at the field trip!"_

Summer's warning echoed through my head like a church bell. Stupid Summer, trying to scare me. There wouldn't be any weirdo's here…. Would there?

Scanning my surroundings I saw no sign of movement. Wrapping my arms around my self I trudged forward, constantly looking to my left and right.

I came to realize something that day. When you're on your own in a forest, the sounds you hear intensify. Just a smallest crack sounded like an explosion!

Maybe it was me just freaking out though. Explosion was a little over exaggerated. It was more like a giant boulder falling down on earth.

That wasn't much better then an explosion though, was it?

Letting out an exhausted sigh, I couldn't help but wonder "Maybe the others are having better luck then me".

-**Niki and the gang!-**

"What? You couldn't find her!" Knuckles looked up when he heard Niki cry out in shock. Most of the students looked towards Summer, Sonic and Ben, who had just arrived.

"She was right behind us, we thought she might of came back here. You sure she isn't here?" Summer asked, looking worried.  
"No, not at all." Niki said softly.

"What's going on?" Knuckles asked, approaching with Sam.  
"Yeah, what's up?" Sam questioned.

"Alex. She's missing. She was with us but we got separated." Ben explained.

"We can't find her." Sonic looked towards Knuckles, who narrowed his eyes.

"Alex is what?"  
"AHH!" the group screamed in shock when Shadow suddenly appeared before us.  
"Dude, give us a warning you creeper!" Summer yelled at him. Shadow scowled at her, repeating his question.  
"What about Alex?"

Summer's shoulders tensed. "She's missing. We couldn't find her anywhere. Have you seen her?"

"I saw her a few hours ago. Haven't seen her since." He answered, folding his arms.

"Eh? Little Alex is missing?" Brittney walked up to the small group, standing next to Shadow.

"Yeah Brittney." Summer sighed at her, hoping she wouldn't get involved.

"We should try to search again. Since there is more people we can find her faster." Ben suggested. The small group nodded.

Some students stepped forward, asking to help. Once everyone agreed, the search party set off. The game plan was if they couldn't find her within an hour, come back to the meeting point. Perhaps one of the others would have found her by then.

As the group ran off, Brittney chuckled. "That is that Air head for you." She cackled. She had never liked Alex, ever since they were in 8th grade. In all honestly she felt like Alex deserved being lost forever. "Right, Shad?"

Shadow did not answer, or even acknowledge Brittney at that moment. He stared out towards the forest, his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

"_If you get into trouble tomorrow, just call for me." _Those were the words he spoke yesterday.

Those were the words that made her smile brightly at him. Clenching his hands into fists, he stepped forward. "I'm joining the search." He gave Brittney a brisk explanation to where he was going.

"But Shad I-" Brittney reached out to grab his arm, wanting him to stay with her.

Yanking his arm away, he glared at her. "I don't have time for you." He said coldly, running after the group.

Some of the remaining students looked shocked, some amused. Brittney, the girl who got any guy she wanted, just got turned down.

Furious at Shad's attitude, Brittney stomped her feet. How dare Alex steal Shad from her! She would get her revenge. She hoped they never found her!

**Okay everyone, it is about time I asked you this. It's about the pairings and couples you all want to see. I was definitely thinking AlexXShadow and KnucklesxNiki. However, there I want to all ask you what you think of this story also being a SummerxSonic? As you can see from recent chapters, Sonic and Summer have grown very close. It could be they are best friends, or maybe even more. What do you all think? Do you want this story to be SummerXSonic, or just keep them as friends?**

**Aww poor Shadow. He's barely gotten any screen time ^-^' Don't worry! He'll get a lot of scenes in the next chapter!  
**

**Thanks for your time.  
**

**AllieJenzie, signing out.  
**


	13. Chapter 13

Toby**: Last time on 'Huh?' we left our young protagonist's on part 2 of the field trip. **

Summer:** Toby! What did I say about the introduction! I'm the one doing it!  
**Toby:** We never agreed on that!**

Summer**: Just hand me the mic!  
**Toby**: NEVER!**

Summer**: Give it! *Tackles***

Alex:** Oh for the love of god. What happened last time was Summer led our group a long distance, we got to our destination, Summer was stupid, and I ended up getting lost. **

Summer**: You're the stupid one if you are the one who got lost!**

Toby**: I agree!**

Alex**: Shut up! Anyway Knuckles saved Niki from Adam, they met Luna-**

Summer**: Who's Luna?**

Alex**: My supposed Neighbor. -_-**

Summer**: Okay then 0.0**

Alex:** Um what else… After I got lost a search party was sent after me. **

Summer**: And Shad came looking for ya too. **

Alex:** …really?**

Summer**: MOVE ONTO THE CHAPTER!**

Alex:** W-Wait! Did he really come after me? Summer!**

"Alex!" Summer let out a sigh, placing her hands on her hips and leaning back. "No good." She said. "I don't see her anywhere." After separating into a few groups to find Alex, Summer was disappointed to find no sign of her friend.

"Don't worry Summer. We'll find her." Niki gave her a weak smile.

Summer nodded, straightening her back. "Yeah…" After a short pause she glanced around. "Where did Shad go?"

Niki looked in all directions, noticing that in fact the hedgehog turned human was gone.

"Aww, don't tell me we lost him too." Summer groaned, trudging forward. "Alex! Shad, ya moron! Where are you two!?"

Letting out a small chuckle, Niki followed after her.

-Me-

Stumbling forward I leaned against the nearest tree. Could the sun be any hotter?

"Summer…If I live from this I sweat I'm going to kill you." I growled to myself, taking a step forward. After a few steps I gasped when my foot caught against a tree root sticking out of the ground. Falling forward I landed hard on my shoulder.

"Ow…" I mumbled turning over to lay on my back.

Gulping, I coughed a bit. My mind began to wander to yesterday.

I hope some stalker doesn't come by and find me here.

Then again, if that were to happen, maybe I could call for Shadow.

_If I called for him, would he hear me? Would he come running for me, and save me? Tell me that everything is fine, and that I'm an idiot for getting lost? _

_Would he even care that I'm missing? Is he out there now looking for me? _

"Sha…." I coughed, placing my hand on my forehead, trying to get some shade. "…dow…"

My throat felt so dry. I could barely talk. If anyone ever asked, I blamed Summer for my position. Then again, I was the one who asked her to hold my water bottle. To make it worst, I probably shouldn't have trusted her with my stuff to begin with.

It's a little shocking that she even agreed to carry my stuff.

My mind had begun to go fuzzy, so it was pointless to think about such trivial matters.

I had to keep moving though, so I quickly got to my feet, making my way forward. Hopefully I was heading out of the forest, and not deeper into it.

As I made my way through the brush and foliage of the forest, I was surprised to see a large hill to my right. It was steeper then most, but it wasn't steep enough for you to plummet straight to the ground. You could walk down it and not fall if you were careful.

If you were pushed down the hill, that would be another story.

Looking forward, dark red hair caught my eye. A girl stood towards the hill, staring out to the forest. Their hand was firmly on their hip as they scowled towards the green covered trees.

"Brittney?" I questioned. I was saved! "Brittney!" I smiled relieved to see someone else from class. "You wouldn't believe how happy I am to see you." I called, running towards.

Realizing someone had called her name, she turned to me, instantly scowling. Flinching at her response my voice faltered. "U-Um… sorry to bother you, but do you know how to get out of here? I sort of got lost-"

"That's because you're such an airhead." Brittney sneered. I stared at her. "What? Do you not even know what airhead means?"

I frowned. "I know what it means."

"What a surprise!" Brittney cackled. I cringed. What was with her attitude? Then again, Brittney was always full of hot air.

"Alright if you don't want to help then just say so." I turned away from her, looking out from the hill as well. The trees were too big to look over though.

Much help that was.

"Aww, is little Alex struggling to find her way back home?" Brittney said mockingly.

"No." I grumbled, not wanting to give her any other means to mock me.

Brittney smirked. "Did Summer leave you behind?"

"No, as I said… I took a wrong turn or something and got lost." I glared at her.

"Right, that's what happened."  
I felt my hockey instincts come out when the urge of checking Brittney into a near by tree popped into my head. "…"

"Nothing to say?" She laughed.

"No. Your just not worth my time." I challenged.

"Wha- who do you think you are talking to you?!" Brittney screeched in anger.

"A girl who is really getting on my nerves." I grumbled, placing my hands on my hips. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to get going. If I'm lucky I'll find Summer around here. Maybe even Shad, since he was your partner. But I'm guessing he left." I took a step forward, beginning my decent down the hill.

In raged, Brittney glared holes into the back of my head. "You-" her final words were muttered as she stepped forward, slamming her hands into my back. The sudden strength added to my back caused me to fall forward, losing my balance.

By instinct I twirled around as I fell back, reaching out.

"WA-!" Reaching out I struggled to grab something, anything, which could stop me from falling. I ended up grabbing the sleeve of Brittney's shirt, tearing it. Letting out a cry, I fell backwards, falling down the side of the hill.

For a split moment before I hit the ground, I saw Brittney sneer at me. Screaming, I tried to stop my self by grabbing some of the grass the covered the side of the hill, but every strand just ripped at my grip.

Why did this hill have to be so steep?!

"S…SHADOW!" I screamed out of impulse, feeling a sudden bump on the hill, sending me momentarily into the air and landing hard back on it. As if a shock wave was sent through my whole body, I let out a gag, everything turning fuzzy, then quickly fading to black.

**-S-**

Shadow scowled. Where could that girl have gone? Leave it to her to get lost. He wouldn't deny that it troubled him to have her missing. But it wasn't like there was anything extremely dangerous here.

Yet of course, his thoughts had to be proven wrong.

"S-SHADOW!" the cry reached his ears in a matter of seconds. Whirling around, Shadow wasted no time in running in that direction.

"Alexandra!" he called out, bursting thought the trees. Pausing he looked around, trying to recall where the voice had come from. To the left if her remembered correctly, towards that clearing. Running out into the clearing, Shadow slowed down just enough to witness a horrible scene. Just as he made it pass the bushes, Alex came into sight. She was sprawled out on the ground, silent and unmoving. Brittney his old partner, stood over Alex, surprised to see him.

"Oh Shad! I'm so glad to see you. I was looking for Alex when-" Shadow pushed passed Brittney with such amazing speed she paused from her sentence in shock.

Shadow instantly bent down to Alex, scooping her upper body into his arms.

"Hey!" He called to her, shacking her. A few scratches covered Alex's unconscious body, bruises marking her pale skin. The first thing Shadow happened to notice was the large purplish looking blemish on her left cheek.

What in the world had happened? Looking to his left, Shadow noticed the hill, which was slightly more step with most, with small rocks scattered around.

Had she fallen down the hill? Knowing how much she dazed out it was possible, but still…

"Alexandra." Shadow attempted again, shacking her. He frowned at no response. She was really out cold. Had she hit her head?

Placing his hand on the back of her skull softly, he ran his fingers through her golden locks, trying to feel for any bumps that might indicate that.

Brittney felt her sanity snap. What did Alex have that she didn't?! It wasn't a big deal she fell down a hill. She had it coming anyway!

The sound of branches snapping caught Shadow's attention and he turned to the sound. From the brush emerged Summer, Niki not far behind.

"Shad! Hey we found you, ya idiot-" Summer appeared from the trees, happy to see the black/red haired teen, but froze at the sight in front of her. Alex was unconscious, held firmly almost… protectively, in Shad's arms. "A…Alex! What happened?!" she demanded running forward, pushing Brittney aside.

Appalled by Summer's rude behavior, Brittney snorted. Placing her hands together, she put her acting into place. "I'm afraid I came just a little too late. Poor Alex was spacing out, as she usual does, and tripped and tumbled down the hill. I was too far away to even try to grab her."

"Hey Alex! Come on, say something." Summer shook her shoulder.

"She's unconscious." Shadow announced, staring down at Alex with a look that Summer had never thought the black-haired male could make.

Worry? Regret? …Both?

"Alex." Niki whispered softly, staring at her sister in horror. "How in the world… even you're not the clumsy sis."

Summer wanted to agree, but what else could have happened?

Glancing at Brittney, she couldn't help but notice there didn't seem to be much concern in the redhead's eyes.

_What was Brittney doing here anyway? Had she come to look for Alex too? No, Brittney had never worried about anyone else then herself, so that idea wouldn't be likely. _

_Maybe a little stroll through the woods? Yeah right, even less possible. She hated nature. _

_So then… why? _

_Had Brittney really tried to grab Alex before she fell? Brittney wasn't the fastest girl, so the idea of her not being able to get to her in time was actually very possible. _

_Plus Summer really didn't know Brittney that well. So Brittney might have actually tried to come help find Alex, or at least try to stop her from falling. _

_You should never judge someone by his or her cover after all. _

_Oh great, now she was beginning to space out like Alex always does. That's not something she would want to make a habit of. She had to get focused again- wait… why was Brittney's shirt ripped? _

Looking more closely at her sleeve, it was in fact ripped. How did that happen? It wasn't ripped last time she saw her. Had she been stupid and tripped some where along the line?

Looking back down at Alex, something horrible caught her eyes once more.

There gripped tightly in Alex's cold hand, was something purple. Reaching out, she opened her best friend's grabbing the object.

_It was fabric._

"You… tried to catch her?" Summer's voice was livid.  
"Well… of course." Brittney nodded, smiling at Shadow, who frowned. Shadow would have to notice her now. After all Alex seemed even more like a klutz now then ever. Who would want a girl who injured herself so much and always spaced out?

Not to mention, since Brittney portrayed herself as the 'almost' hero of little Alex, she _must _have scored some major points from him.

By the end of the day, Shad would be hers.

"Then…" Summer lifted her hand, revealing the purple fabric, similar to Brittney shirt, into the air. "Why is apart of your shirt in her hand?"

Brittney gasped, looking at her sleeve, realizing that Alex had ripped it. How dare she rip her shirt!

"I…I don't know." Brittney said quickly, hoping she could lie her way through this. She had done it many times before, and Summer wasn't the brightest girl, so it would be east.

Jumping to her feet, Summer ran her finger along the soft fabric in her hands. "It looks like it was ripped. Which must mean that Alex would have had to rip it right off of your shirt. Perhaps… she tried to reach out for you when she fell. Ended up grabbing your shirt." Summer mumbled to herself, looking up towards the hill, easily seeing the trail of crushed grass Alex had rolled over on her decent down.

Brittney gulped. She worked up her acting, her eyes getting watery. "T-That's right. She ripped it. But not when she fell."

Summer frowned.

"See, I found her up there. I heard she was lost and went looking for her." Brittney looked pleadingly towards Shadow, who said nothing. "When I found her she started yelling at me." She paused to sniffle. "She said such awful things. She even ripped my shirt. She started to walk away, but was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't realize where she was going and fell. I tried to catch her, but I was too slow, I didn't reach her in time to even try." Finishing her little speech, she inwardly smirked.

"…" the group was silent.

"So you see I was just trying-"

"Are you an idiot?" freezing, Brittney looked towards Shadow, who glared at her with such intensity, she flinched. "Alexandra would never do something like that." He scoffed.

"That's right." Niki said calmly. "My sister is not the type of person to insult people."

"It's true she spaces out a lot and might have been caught up in her thoughts… but she's not stupid enough to just fall down a hill." Summer turned to her. "Even if she had tripped, she could have caught herself easily. Someone would have had to _push_ her for something like this to happen."

"P-Push?" Brittney laughed. "Are you crazy. Why would I ever do that?"

"You've never liked Alex Brittney." Niki pointed out.

"Not to mention, every time Shad seemed to be talking to Alex, you got all huffy." Summer added. Brittney flinched.

_Summer had seen that?_

Even Niki was a little surprised that Summer had been so aware of her surrounding these past few days.

"You even smirked at Alex as you were walking away with Shad earlier this afternoon. You were probably upset that Shad came looking for Alex, and turned you down."

Brittney flinched, glaring at Summer with all her might. "You know what…" Brittney was seething with rage. "You're right. It was me! I pushed her down the hill."

"Why!" Niki demanded, jumping to her feet. "What has Alex ever done to you?!"

"She had it coming!" Brittney screamed angrily, her revenge getting the best of her. "I'm the pretty and popular one. Not her! It's not fair how she's friends with all the cool guys!" Summer realized Brittney was referring to Sony, Knuck, and Shad and gritted her teeth.

"That's your only reason?! Cause you were jealous?" She demanded, stepping forward.

Brittney froze, looking similar to a deer in headlights.

"Oh… That's it." Summer pounded her fist into her other palm, approaching Brittney with threatening gestures. She was going to punch this girl till she cried.

Letting out a squeak of protest, Brittney stumbled back. She may not have wanted to admit it, but even she knew how much Summer could damage a person's face if provoked.

Popping her knuckles she quickly approached Brittney, who squeaked and squawked out incoherent words.

"Summer don't!" Niki called to her, not wanting Summer to get into any trouble for hitting another girl. Even if Brittney deserved it, she knew that Alex wouldn't want her friend to get in trouble for her.

Just as she brought her fist back, in the back of Summer's mind she felt herself pause. Shacking it off Summer brought her fist forward, causing Brittney to scream and squeeze her eyes shut.

However… Brittney felt no pain. Opening her eyes, she was face to face to Summer's frozen fist, only centimeters from her nose.

It was then when Sonic arrived, having heard Brittney's scream from close by. Dashing out of the bushes, he froze at the sight in front of him.

"W…What are you w-waiting for?" Brittney choked out.

Summer's fist, only inches from the redhead's face, fell limp at her side.

"You're not even worth the time." Summer mumbled darkly, glaring towards the grass at her feet.

"Excuse me?! Don't give me pity Summer!" Brittney screamed, tears threatening to fall down her face.

"Then I'll punch you." The red head froze at Summer's words. "I'll punch you till you know I will never feel even an ounce of pity for you. _Ever. _I'll only find it a shame I have to waist my time making that pretty little face of yours purple._" _Summer's stare was livid. "So unless you want that to happen, I would suggest you leave."

Choking on her own sobs, Brittney's red face cringed. "Y-You freaks!" Brittney screeched, fleeing for the trees, stumbling past the bushes. When the redheaded diva had vanished within the green, the group was silent.

Summer did not look at anyone after that, and only stared at her feet, which seemed too interesting at that moment.

"Summer." Sonic said softly.

"W… We should get Alex back to everyone and grab a first-aid kit." Niki chipped in. Summer in agreement.  
"Yeah, that would be best."

Shadow wasted no time in placing Alex on his back, with Niki's help, and lifted her off the ground.

"I'm heading off then." He announced to no one in particular.

"I'll run ahead then. Get the first-aid kit and meet with you later." Niki gave Shadow an odd look, as if telling him not to run at his normal speed with Alex on his back.

Shadow scowled, but understood why she wouldn't want him to run as fast as he could.

Niki nodded, and rushed off.

"I'll meet you there as well." Summer spoke up.  
Shadow glanced at her, frowning. "And where will you be going then?"  
"To get some… air." Summer growled, storming off. Sonic wasted no time in rushing after, giving Shadow a pat on the shoulder as he passed.

Scowling Shadow let out a sigh, looking back at the sleeping blond on his back.

"…You idiot." He muttered.

-LATER-

_Moving? Was I…moving? _Slowly opening my eyes, I blinked feeling my head spin. My arms were wrapped around something and I was leaning forward onto something. Something covered my head, shielding it from the sun. "…What?" I mumbled.

"Are you awake Alexandra?" A calm voice asked.

My eyes widening a bit, I tightened my grip subconsciously. "…Shadow?"

"That's me."

"…You…." I smiled. "…Came for me…" I felt like crying, but my head was spinning too much for to even bother. "Sorry for the trouble. Where are we?"

"We're heading back. You're fine now." Shadow looked over his shoulder at me, smirking a bit. "You're an idiot though. Getting lost like that."

I felt myself gasp a bit, thinking back to what I thought earlier that day.

"_**Would he come running for me, and save me? Tell me that everything is fine, and that I'm an idiot for getting lost?"**_

I felt like laughing. What a fool I was for doubting Shadow. Of course he would come. Though he may not admit it, deep down, he was a good guy, and would come to anyone's rescue, right?

I smiled. "Sorry…"

"Don't apologize." Shadow commanded, pausing by a near by rock to set me down by it.

"Where are the others?" I asked, looking around.

"Your sister ran ahead to grab a first-aid kit. Your friend said she would meet back with us; she wants to burn some steam off. That blue headed idiot went after her." Shadow explained, kneeling down in front of me.

Nodding, I flinched. "Ow." I whined, carefully placing my finger on my slightly swollen left cheek. "Is this a bruise?"

"Yeah." Shadow nodded bluntly.

"How did I get this?" I gasped, wondering if someone, possible Summer, hit me while I was asleep.

"Don't you remember? You fell down a hill." He answered.

After a short pause, the memories came rushing back to me, as if someone smacked me in the face again.

"That's right!" I gasped. "Brittney… she pushed me!" I nodded, snapping my fingers.

Shadow narrowed his eyes at my last comment, but said nothing. "How do you feel?"  
"…Fine." I slowly said giving my limbs a quick shack to make sure nothing was broken. Shadow nodded.

I felt myself blush when Shadow reached his hand out, running his thumb over the small bruises on my face.

"You called for me." He muttered.

Realizing I had in fact done so, I laughed nervously. "Ah-ha, y-yeah I did. Sorry, I just remembered what you said yesterday and-"  
"Don't apologize." Shadow said sternly. "I told you to call for me if something happened anyway so… don't apologize…" Shadow trailed off, focusing on the dark purple blemish.

I stopped myself from gulping, not knowing what to do in this situation.

"Shadow…" Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Thank you." I gave him a warm smile, slowly lifting up my hand, and placing it on top of his, leaning my face into his warm embrace. There was then silence between us. Something in Shadow's eyes though shocked me. There was surprise, and… something else.

Whirling around, Shadow's back was to me.

"Come on, get on." Shadow crouched down in front of, motioning for me to get on his back.  
"Y-You don't have to carry me. I'm fine really! I don't want to trouble you anymore then I already have-"

"It's not a trouble if I'm doing it on my own free will." Shadow muttered. "So just get on."

Slowly reaching out, I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning my head on his shoulder. Pulling his arms back, he pulled his arms around my knees and hoisted my up. Once He had a good hold on me, he lifted himself to his feet, continuing forward.

I smiled to myself. I was glad… to have Shadow by my side.

**-S and S-**

Summer stormed forward; pausing from time to time to pace in place, then change directions towards a different part of the forest.

"Summer." Sonic said, a safe distance behind her. Even from there, he could feel that dark aura from her body.

"What?!" She snapped over her shoulder. Sonic flinched.

"So… you're mad."  
"NO DUH!"

Sonic stuffed his hands in his pocket, smiling a bit. "There's your smart remarks." He suddenly frowned. "Why didn't you…?"

"Why didn't I what?" Summer demanded.

"Why didn't you go through with it? You know, punching Brittney?"

Summer scoffed, looking away. "I don't know…" she growled.

"Yeah you do." Sonic insisted.

Summer instantly sent him a cold look. "You're really getting on my nerves Sony." She muttered. Shrugging, he grinned at her. After a short pause, Summer sighed. "Because… if Alex had been awake at the time… there is no way she would want me to go through with it. I'm sure she would have told me not to do it, no matter how much Brittney deserved it."

"So you didn't do it because of Alex?"

"Basically." Summer kicked a near by pebble. "She's that type of girl after all."

Sonic nodded.

"However…" Sonic blinked when Summer gritted her teeth. "Something like that…. Someone like Brittney." Summer turned towards a large boulder, storming towards it.

"Summer?" Sonic called, walking after her.

"It completely…. MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL!" Summer suddenly lifted her foot above her head, smacking it down on a near by rock, cracking it. Sonic stared silently, shocked, as Summer repeatedly began to kick the rock.

"Boil! Boil! BOIL!"

"Summer-"

Summer kicked the rock a final time, shattering it into ruble. She growled angrily, breathing heavily.

"Summer!"

Summer lifted her foot again; ready to bring it down, when Sonic suddenly grabbed her ankle, stopping her.

"STOP!" he commanded, placing his other hand on Summer's back, balancing her.

Snapping out of her enraged state, she looked at Sonic in surprise, noticing just how close they really were now. "…What?" she scowled

"You're bleeding." He commented pointing to the trickle of blood from the bottom of Summer's foot that had began to soak into her sock.

Realizing he was right, Summer blinked. As Sonic lowered her foot to the ground, he looked down at her. Though Summer felt no pain and had no reason to feel embarrass, she still look away from his stare.

"Have you calmed down now?"

Summer scowled, not wanting to answer. Folding her arms, she bit her bottom lip. Sonic didn't mind though, and waited patiently for her to continue.

Eventually Summer's shoulders relaxed as she stared at the ground. "I couldn't do anything…."

Sonic looked at her. "What?"

"Even though I knew Alex spaces out a lot, it's my fault she got lost…. And I couldn't do anything to stop her from getting hurt."

Sonic tilted his head. "Summer it's not your-"

"Even though I promised." Summer sunk to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest. "Even though I promised I wouldn't let anything… I wouldn't let anyone hurt her."

Sonic slowly knelt down to Summer's level. "You promised?"  
"When we were little, Alex was always a cry baby." Summer chuckled a bit. "She always smiled though. And…" Summer looked around. "Don't tell her this, but… Alex was my first friend too."

Sonic blinked, a little surprised to hear this information. Summer had always seemed so outgoing and outrageous. She had many friends outside of their little group.

"You were?" If Sonic recalled correctly, Alex had once told them Summer had been her first friend.

Nodding meekly, she continued, "See, at the time I met Alex, I didn't know how to make friends either. I was so loud and obnoxious I guess…. No one wanted to be my friend. I felt so awkward talking to others, that I would just yell everything I said. When I met Alex though, she laughed." Summer chuckled. "She laughed at me! Even though I was yelling right into her face. She said that I was interesting and just… smiled. Then after that, I got more comfortable and talked normally. Because of Alex I got the courage to talk with others. Though Alex never changed and stayed the same unsociable person she is today."

Sonic nodded.

"After I met her though, she had always been so nice to me, that I promised myself and her I would never let others hurt her. She's the type of girl that doesn't deserve any type of pain. She shouldn't shed a single tear of sadness or regret. Just of joy, ya know? I mean, I'm sure she would cry at sad movies or when she thinks she is bothering someone… but to cry when someone is mean to her, that is something that I would never let happen." Summer frowned.

Sonic stared at Summer softly, slowly smiling.

"You worry too much." He flicked her forehead. "You'll get wrinkles.

Chuckling, she rubbed her forehead. "Yeah I guess."

Placing his hand on her head Sonic brought his head towards her, pressing the side of their heads together in a side hug.

Grinning, he did a thumbs up. "Everything will be fine."

Surprised, Summer didn't know what to say, and nodded.

**Ta-da! The end of the chapter! **


	14. Chapter 14

Niki: **Hey guys! So last time on 'Huh?', we finally found Alex after our long search and sent Brittney running! Summer went on a bit of a rampage against a boulder and shared some secret thoughts with Sonic! **

Sonic: **Yo! There was also a little conversation between Shad and Alex too!**

Sonic and Niki: **So sit back, enjoy, and review! :D**

Sonic: **Also, don't forget to check out AllieJenzie's comic version of this story on ! Just type up AllieJenzie and her story will show up with it :D**

-Chapter begin-

"_If you ever get in trouble, just call for me." _Shadow's voice echoed through my mind. Repeating over and over, like a never-ending track.

As I lay on my bed, I could only think of these past few weeks. It had been almost two weeks since our unexpected guests showed up. And recently, there was one in particular that had been making my heart race like crazy.

After being rescued by Shadow yesterday, my thoughts had become all mushed up and fuzzy. I couldn't think straight anymore!

Resting the back of my hand on my forehead, I sighed. Why couldn't I stop thinking about him? It seemed like I couldn't go five minutes without the human hedgehog entering my mind.

Sighing, I rested the back of my hand on my forehead.

"LEFT!"

I jumped at the sound of Niki screaming from down stairs.

"No, no, got the right. The right stupid!" Knuckles voice followed after.

Sitting up, I swung my feet over the side of the bed, listening.

"AHHHHHHHHH! NOOO! RUN RUN!" the screams were soon followed by cackling. Jumping in surprise, I rushed out of my room and down the steps.

"Niki?" I called.  
"Don't turn around man, he'll get you. I SAID DON"T TURN AROUND YOU MORON!" Summer's voice screamed.

"What I don't understand? Don't turn around? But then I'll hit the fence!" Sonic yelled back. Their voices were coming from the computer room. Quickly approaching the door, I peaked in to see everyone, except for a certain Shadow the Hedgehog, crowded around the single computer screen. All their chairs were squished together in one big circle, enclosing them.

Sonic was currently using the mouse, pressing down on the shift button frantically. "Why am I moving so slow?!" he demanded.

"Head to the bathroom! The bathroom!" Knuckles hit Sonic's shoulder.

"Where's that?!"

"The building! Go to the building!" Niki and Knuckles chanted together.

Slowly approaching the group, I looked over all the shoulders to the computer game they were playing.

"There's a note! There, there!" Niki screamed in a panic, jumping a bit, jabbing the screen, revealing said note.

Sonic moved the controls a bit, approaching the note to read it.

"_**CAN'T RUN**_" it said in pencil, as if someone had scribbled it on as fast as they could.

"W-What are you all doing?" I questioned. Sonic kept his eyes focused on the screen, but nudged Summer. Sighing, she turned around.

"We're playing _SlenderMan_." She explained.

"Slender…man?" I questioned.

"Yeah, it's this game my friend Danny called me about." Summer grinned. "Remember her?"

The brief recollection of Summer's childhood neighbor came to mind and I nodded. "Yeah, I remember her. She moved a few years ago, right? You still keep in touch?"

"Yeah, she calls me to tell me about some news games sometimes. She said this one was fun, especially if you play it with others –GO LEFT! THERE'S A NOTE!" Summer suddenly screaming, grabbing Sonic's shoulder, and causing him to jump.

"I see it!" He screamed. "Calm down!"

Everyone paused to look at the page before Sonic picked it up. The picture had a single word with an odd-looking stick figure below it.

"_Follows." _Knuckles read deeply, causing Niki to jump.

"Man, don't do that." Niki pouted.

Knuckles smirked at her, nudging her a bit. Once Sonic picked up the note, the words below said 6/8.

"So you're trying to find pages?" I questioned.

"Yeah. You have to find 8 pages before SlenderMan finds you." Sonic nodded.  
"Who's SlenderMan?"

"This creepy man with no face. If you see him you have to run away. You can't look at him either of he'll get you." Niki added.

I nodded, understanding the basic idea of the game.

"What happens when you find all the pages?"

"Dunno." Summer shrugged. "Haven't got that far yet. We already lost once before. We got to 7 pages, then stupid Knuck there got us caught!" Summer glared at the redhead.  
"That's because you kept hitting my arm, and screaming in my ear. It is distracting!"

"Oh cry me a river." Summer grumbled, folding her arms and turning away from him. Looking over her shoulder, she got up from her chair. "You wanna try?"

I looked at her in surprise. "Me?"

"But I'm still going!" Sonic whined. "What if we die?"

"We'll just do a quick change. Besides, Ax is good at games." Summer patted my head.

My face flushed and I shrugged. "I don't know if I'll be good at this one though." I looked towards Sonic, who grinned at me.

"You'll do fine." Quickly jumping out of the seat I struggled to get into it, scrambling for the mouse.

"Move quickly or he'll get you! You have to keep moving!" Summer yelled.

"O-Okay." I stammered. I had to admit. This game was creepy. The random drumbeat playing in the background, the single light from the flashlight, and the darkness of the forest.

If I haven't mentioned before, I'm not a big fan of darkness. Oddly enough, the shadows the flashlight was making were a little nostalgic. Like Shadow.

_AH! There I go again, thinking of Shadow. Focus Alex, focus on the game_.

Everyone's hard work depends on you. "Ah, a page!" I gasped at the sight of the piece of paper sticking to the tree.

"Well grab it man!' Summer grinned.

"**Always watches" **the note said.

The group cheered when the words "7/8 pages"

"Back were we started! Only one more! Lets finish this guys!" Summer yelled.

"Yeah!" we all cheered.

I was feeling pumped now. Granted, I still had no idea what a _SlenderMan_ was, but I was sure I would find out soon.

After a few minutes of walking around, I approached a large rock.

"Think it is here?" I asked.

"I think so. Have we checked here yet?" Summer looked at the others.

Sonic shrugged.

Circling the rock, I grinned at the sight of a page! "Found it!" I exclaimed.  
"Quick grab it!" Niki and Knuckles yelled.

Turning around to reach for the note I jumped when the music suddenly changed, revealing a man.

No, this wasn't a man. It was something in a suit, with long arms that almost reached the ground and a completely white face. There were not eyes on that face, as if the person was wearing a mask, but I knew that wasn't true.

"SLENDERMAN!" Niki screamed in fear, clinging to Knuckles for dear life.

"W-What?!" I stammered. "I don't-" the screen suddenly blurred, static ringing in our ears.  
"NO! We were so close!" Summer cried, falling to her knees.  
"What do you-?" I screamed when Slenderman's eyeless, and mouth less, face popped up on the scream, shocking me out of my socks.

"Told you he was creepy!" Summer cackled.

And as if the day couldn't get any weirder, Shadow for some reason suddenly decided to burst through the door, completely knocking it off its hinges.

"Dude! Shad!" Niki screamed in rage. "Now we have to fix that!"

"What's up with you Spiky?" Summer scowled at him.

"…I heard you scream." Shadow looked at me, making my blink in surprise.

"Ah? Oh uh… sorry. We were playing a game when something scary suddenly popped up. Sorry to worry you." I apologized, unable to look him in the eyes.

Shadow's shoulder's relaxed and he nodded. "I see… well then-" Shadow began to walk out the door.  
"FIX THE DOOR YOU JERK!" Niki screeched. Shadow scowled in annoyance, and swiftly began to pick up the unattached door, attempting to put it back on the hinges.

"And look, you completely pulled out the screws." Niki slapped her forehead in annoyance. "Wait here, I'll get a screw driver." With that, she stormed out of the room.

Summer couldn't help but laugh at the scene. "Man Ax, I love coming to your house." She sighed dreamily. "Come on though, I'm hungry." She grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet.

"Then go home and eat." I grumbled.

"That's too farrrr!" Summer whined, dragging me out of the room.

Sighing, I couldn't help but follow. As I began to search the kitchen for food, I paused to look at Summer.

"Danny sure knows some weird games." I chuckled, reaching into the cabinet for a cup.

"Yeah. I get a lot of fun stuff from her. She is actually coming to visit soon…" Summer's voice died off, which wasn't like her. Looking over my shoulder, I was surprised to see Summer staring towards the ground, looking hesitant.  
"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Oh uh… no nothing." Summer waved it off. "It's just been a while since I saw her last. What has it been, 3, 4 years?" Summer rubbed her chin in thought.

"I think it was 4." I nodded. I didn't know Danny as much as Summer. I knew she had been Summer's neighbor since they were kids. When Danny turned 21 though she moved. Summer and Danny had always gotten along great.

"Huh, I swear I thought you would be excited to see her." I mumbled, placing the cup under the faucet, pouring some water into it.  
"I am." Summer argued. "It's just… nah forget it." Summer stuffed her hands in her pockets shrugging. I tilted my head at her. That was odd.

"You okay?" I asked.  
"Oh yeah, fine." Summer gave me a quick grin, waving off my comment. "Just hand me some milk."

I scowled at her. "I swear, I'm going to start charging you every time you come into this house."

"What?" Summer whined. "I don't have any money though!" she leaned her head against the counter, groaning in protest.

"Then get a job!" I snapped.

"I don't work till next Monday though." Summer mumbled, staring at the ground in depression.

I froze. Had I heard that correctly?'

"You what?" I asked.

"I don't have any money." Summer repeated.

"N-no, no, after that." I stammered.

Summer raised her eyebrow at me, sighing. "Uh… I don't work till next Monday?"

"That!" I gasped, gawking at her. "You have a job? Since when?!"

"Since I realized money doesn't grow from my pockets, cause trust me, I've tried." Summer nodded.

"Where do you work? How much does it pay? Who in the world would hire you!?"

"Hey! That hurts." Summer growled angrily. "And just so you know, it pays minimum wage, and it's at a small day care I use to go to by my house. I'm just there as a helper. You now, I get to clean up, help the kids if they need it, tell a story every once and a while, normally babysitting stuff actually." Summer folded her arms, leaning back on her chair in thought.

I stared at her for a while. Summer? Influencing the young minds of children? That would not end well for this society.

"I guess that is cool." I shrugged, placing a sandwich and milk in front of her. "Why didn't you tell me about it sooner."

She shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I've been distracted."  
Now that I noticed, Summer had seemed even more out of it then usual. She was a little more silent lately, and not as quick with her comebacks. She even came to my house more often too.

Sure she came over a lot before, but recently she comes over everyday, right after school or right in the morning for hours at a time.

"Hey… hey!" Summer called to me. Realizing I had begun to drift off to "Alex world" I looked at her.

"Did you hear what I just said?" she sighed.

"W…What?" I smiled nervously, rubbing my forearm.

"Of course not." My best friend shook her head disappointedly at me. "I said, you have a date for the Timber Festival yet? It is in 3 days Alex. THREE DAYS! Get a move on girl." Summer scolded, flicking my forehead.

"Oh?" I frowned. "Do you even have a date?"

Summer paused, avoiding my stare. "Well to be honest… not really. There is one guy in particular that I sort of have my eyes set on, but he's too slow to catch on." Summer winked at me, giving me one of her famous 'Summer has a secret" grins.

Feeling completely let out of the circle, and interested, I leaned closer to her. "Who?"

"Ah, can't tell." Summer put a finger to her lips. "That would ruin the fun!"

"Aww, Summer." I whined, pulling her sleeve. "Why?"

Summer cackled, stuffing her face into her sandwich to avoid any more questions. Though it wouldn't have mattered, Summer talks with her mouth full all the time.

Deciding to let it go, I sighed. "Fine, have it your way. I'll find out eventually though. One way or another." I warned, motioning to my eyes, then towards her. "I got my eyes on you." I chuckled.

Summer snorted a bit, chugging down her milk. "So hey Alex, after school tomorrow, you guys want to come to the park?"

"The park. All of us?" I asked.

Nodding she stuffed down the rest of her sandwich. "Yeah, my mom has all this left over stuff she needs to get ride of over at my house. She said I should invite some friends over or something to finish it off. So I though, why not a picnic or something?"

Thinking over the proposal, it actually sounded pretty fun. "Hey yeah, that actually sounds like a good idea." I agreed. "Tomorrow?"

"That's the plan. What do ya think? Want to join me?"  
"Yeah, sounds great. I'll tell the gang and we can just meet up tomorrow." I nodded. "I'm sure Sony and Knuck wont mind if we tell them food is involved." I chuckled.

"Ah, true there." Summer handed me the now empty cup and plate and reached for her jacket. "Well I got to get going. Danny will be here soon."

"Okay." I sighed. Of course Summer would just eat my food and leave, which was Summer for you.

"Alright, then I guess I'll see you later. Remember, the park tomorrow, right after school." With that, Summer was off, leaving my alone with her empty dishes. She could have at least put them in the sink herself.

-Next day-

After the school the next day, everyone was super excited, except for Shadow, for the upcoming picnic. We bundled ourselves up in warm clothes since the temperature had recently dropped, and marched towards the park.

Fall had approached rapidly, as the leaves had already begun to fall in colors or red, yellow and orange.

"Ah, I love fall." Niki cheered, kicking up a small pile of leaves. "Not to hot, not to cold, just right." She nodded.

Sonic folded his arms behind his head. "Too bad you can't seem to keep the leaves in the yard kept in a pile for longer then a minute." He teased. It was true. Every time Niki got all of leaves raked up, she would just jump into the pile as soon as it was done, sending the leaves flying.

"I can't help it." She whined. "They are too irresistible, like bubble wrap."

"Agreed." Knuckles nodded. After showing the young echidna a small piece of Bubble wrap, he had become addicted to it, as most people did.

As we turned into the park, I stared around for Summer, not sure where she wanted us to meet.

"Hey Alex!" Summer waved to me frantically from the park bench.

"There she is." Niki laughed, running towards the bench with Sonic and Knuckles right behind her.

As we all approached the table, I was happy to see food already spread out, just like Summer had promised.

However, there was not just food towards the table, there was a women too.

She was sitting towards the end of the table, wrapped up in a fluffy black scarf and brown jacket. Her eyes were narrowed towards her cup of coffee she must have recently purchased from Starbucks.

She looked oddly familiar.

"Hey Summer." I greeted once I got to her. I glanced at the women again. "Who is that?" I said in a hushed tone, not wanting to be rude.

"Oh ya!" Summer gasped. "Guys, this is Danny." At the sound of her name, Danny looked up at everyone.  
"Oh hello." She gave us a small smile. "It's nice to meet you all."

"Hey Danny." Niki nodded to her.

"I invited Danny to join us today since she is leaving on Sunday."

Danny nodded to us all. "Yes, Summer has told me so much about all of you. I'm surprised I even got any sleep last night." She chuckled.

Summer flushed red a bit, oddly enough embarrassed.

"In fact, I'm pretty sure I could guess all of your names." Danny placed her coffee down, staring at all of us. When she first got to me, she smiled. "I definitely recognize you Alex. How have you been?" she smiled.  
"I'm great Danny." I smiled back, glad she remembered me, even if we had only met a few times before.

"Then, you must be Niki, Alex's little sister. You both look a lot alike." Danny motioned towards Niki, who nodded.

"Spot on." Niki nodded.

"Then…" Danny trailed towards Knuckles. "I'm assuming because of your red hair you're Knuck, and then you beside him is Shad."

Both of the two boys nodded. Summer must have mainly described them by their hair, which she would always accuse the two of having dyed their hair instead of believing it was natural.

At last Danny moved to Sonic, who grinned. "And finally Sony." Danny chuckled, obviously amused for some odd reason.

"Perfect on everyone." I smiled. "To think, Summer actually talks about us." I cooed, nudging her.

"Yeah, unlike you, who never stops talking." Summer shoved, causing me to grin. "Well, lets eat everyone. This food isn't getting any warmer!"

With that the party/picnic began. It was actually pretty good for being leftovers. Sonic and Knuckles definitely didn't disagree and dove right in.

After a while we all got into conversations about each other.

Danny was actually a really cool girl. Her voice was very calm and collected and she didn't show much emotion, but you could tell what she was feeling sometimes through her eyes. They were a dead give away to how she truly felt about something.

"I remember my high school days well. Wasn't too long ago anyway, but it sure did go by fast." Danny paused to take a sip of her coffee.

"I know what you mean." I sighed. I was a senior after all. After this year, no more high school for me!

"What do you miss about high school most?" Niki asked?

"Hmm, I guess seeing my friends everyday. Now that we are out of high school, they all went down their own separate paths. Granted I still see them every once and a while and stay in touch through Facebook, but it's just not the same." Danny let out a small sigh.

Summer and me looked at each other, realizing we were both seniors and may not see each other often after high school either. I sniffed, and so did Alex.

"Alex." Summer whimpered, grabbing my hand.

"Summer." My voice cracked, showing that I wanted to cry.

"Here they go." Niki sighed, causing the group to laugh.

"I definitely don't miss the drama though, that is for sure." Danny added.

"Oh my gosh, tell me about it. Can't we just mind our own business and act like mature adults already?" Niki grumbled.

"I don't know about that, a lot of adults I know act like 5 year olds." Danny pointed out.

"Great." My and my sister smiled sarcastically.

"Yeah, high school life. When you get out of school you realize that everything really about high school was just pointless. Almost all the stuff you learn you forget really within the first couple years. You realize that all the gossip, popularity, social classes, and dating was just useless. Once you get out of school, none of that really matters anymore."

"I'd figure that's how it would be." Knuck smirked.

"Yeah, high school is weird." Sony took a bit of his sandwich.

"You're one to talk, blue head." Summer snickered.

"It's natural!" Sonic snapped at her.  
"Suuure." Danny and Summer said together.

"There is one thing I disagree with you though Danny." Niki announced.

"Oh? What's that?"

"The dating!" Niki's eyes beamed, her romance levels rising. "Dating is very important life lessons everyone has to learn!"

Knuckles chuckled at Niki, causing her to blush and glare at him. He instantly fell silent.

Danny raised her eyebrow. "I suppose." She shrugged, staring down at her coffee. "Most of them just… end in heart break though."

I frowned at her sentence. It was just what Danny said though that shocked me. It was how Summer had flinched, and looked towards the ground.

"I'm sure not all of them ended in heart break." Niki argued.

Danny smiled softly at her. "Yeah you're right, not all of them did." Danny lifted up her hand, revealing a small golden ring with a single jewel in the middle, to show us all.  
"I-Is that-!" I gasped in shock. Summer's attention snapped towards Danny in shock, her eyes widening at the sight of the ring.

How had she not noticed it earlier?!

"I actually wanted to tell you this later-" Danny mainly directed her sentence to Summer, who was silent. "But I'm engaged."

"Ahhh!" we squealed.

"Congratulations!" Niki jumped up in excitement.

"That's amazing. I'm so happy for you!" I grinned.

"Yeah, congrats." Knuckles and Sonic agreed. Shadow, as usually stayed silent, not really interested in our small conversations.

Everyone began to cheer, congratulating Danny and asking about her groom with excitement. Something about learning some one would soon be married and living happily with another…. It had a magical power of making those around them happy too.

So then…. Why was it that everyone at the table (excluding Shadow) was enjoying themselves… but Summer?

Noticing only a few seconds after the announcement, I frowned. Summer was looking towards the ground, with a frown that I had never seen before.

A look of such utter sadness, it broke my heart just to look at her. Slowly Summer reached up, clutching the necklace wrapped around her neck rightly.

"T…" Releasing the necklace, Summer forced a grin on her face, looking towards Danny. "That's great Danny! It's about time too. I mean, no offense, but you're not exactly getting any younger." She shrugged, her normal cocky attitude appearing.

Danny snorted, giving a hardy chuckle. "Oh that's great. I'm happy to know you are so considerate of this 'old ladies' age."

The group had laughed again. I couldn't though.

What was that just now? That look on Summer's face? Through all the time I had known Summer, I had never seen a look like that before.

I never wanted to see a look like that on her face.

As the day continued, the hours rolled by quickly. With the games, food fights/ eating contests, the group was exhausted.

"I think it is time to head home." I announced as I helped Niki steady herself.

"To much… running." She gagged, wanting to collapse at that moment and fall into a never-ending sleep.

"I think you're right." Danny nodded, glancing at her watch. "I have to get going soon anyway."

It was at this moment, that I think back to my decisions I made that day. At this moment, after saying good-bye to Summer and Danny, we began to walk back home, Knuckles caring an exhausted Niki on his back.

Halfway back though, I remembered something. I had forgot my jacket on the bench. It would only take a few minutes to go get it, and told everyone to go on without me.

Shadow had even offered to come with me, and I didn't really feel like saying no. It was better to have some company anyway, with how dangerous this world could be sometimes.

So we both walked back, not expecting what we saw when we arrived.

Danny and Summer were still at the bench, cleaning up anything that had been left behind. Summer had found my jacket, and must have decided to just give it back to me tomorrow.

We had come just around the corner when I heard Danny say.

"I'm heading back, you coming?"

"No." Summer avoided Danny's gaze, glaring at the ground.

"What's with that attitude?"

I froze towards the end of the trees leading towards the park. I wasn't sure why, but something compelled me too. And it seemed that Shadow was the same way.

Summer bit her bottom lip. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"That, right there." Danny pointed out, narrowing her eyes. "What with that? Are you upset?"

"I'm not upset." Summer snapped, finally turning towards her, just to give Danny a dangerous glare.  
"Geez Summer, this is why I wanted to tell you about it later." Danny sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Tell me what? That you are marrying some other guy?" Summer demanded.

"Yes that." Danny hissed. "Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"How can I?!" Summer yelled angrily, closing her eyes. Placing her hand on her head, Summer rubbed her head violently. She did that whenever she had trouble understanding something.

"Because Summer, I love him." Those words seemed to hit Summer like a blade.

"Love?" she questioned darkly.

Danny frowned, finally breaking eye contact to stare at the ground. "Yes, Love Summer."

"How can you say that!" Summer demanded. "How can you say you love another man after all the time you spent together!?" Summer demanded.

"_You?"_ I thought. As in, Danny and some one else? Had Danny dated someone else before she became engaged?

Danny gritted her teeth. "I can love who ever I choose Summer. I'm sorry you can't understand that." Summer froze at her words. "I will always love _him _to thoughSummer, I always will!" Danny voice began to rise. "You should know better then anyone he wouldn't want me to be held down by the past. So stop letting the past hold you down as well and move on. It's been a long time since then Summer! Almost 8 years. Why can't you understand that not everyone can stay locked away in their little fantasy, thinking that one day he will come back like you can?!" For the first time that day, Danny voice rose to a scream.

I felt my throat go dry, not sure what exactly they were talking about. What ever it was though… seemed painful for both of them to remember.

After a few seconds Danny seemed to realize what she said and regret filled her eyes. "S-Summer I didn't mean-"

"No. You got your point across." Summer looked away, hiding her face from her. "I'll be going back first." Her voice was cold, almost lifeless. Pushing pass Danny, Summer stuffed her hands in her pockets, trudging down the dirt path leading towards her house.

Once she was gone, Danny cursed under breath, kicking the nearest trashcan with all her might. "Why did I say that?" She muttered to herself, collapsing on the bench, leaning forward to hide her face within her hands.

Taking a shaky step back, I stumbled forward, Shadow having to catch me to keep my balance. What in the world was with the conversation?

"You okay?' Shadow asked.  
"Y-Yeah, I'm just… a little shaken up." I admitted softly. "Lets just… go home." I said slowly, realizing that Summer had taken my jacket with her when she left.

Realizing I no longer wanted to be there, Shadow took my hand and led me home. It was comforting, knowing Shadow was there for me. If he hadn't come with me, I don't think I could have gotten home alone.

I didn't know what was going on, but the whole situation seemed a little familiar to me. I'm not sure why, but thinking of it made my heart hurt. As if a forgotten memory that was locked away was trying to make it's way back to my brain.

What was it though?

**Wow. 0.0 what is with this intense atmosphere? Are we getting into some kind of plot? 0.0 Stay tune to find out!**


	15. Chapter 15

Toby: **Last time on 'Huh?', the group had a little get together with one of Summer's old friend, Danny. (And I wasn't invited!)**

Niki: (**Oh get over it.) After the party everyone started to head back but Alex realized she forgot her coat and went back. When she got back she realized that Summer and Danny were still there and were arguing about some things. **

Toby: **Alex, along with Shadow, listened to their conversation to learn some pretty intense stuff. Though Alex doesn't really understand, all she knows is that there use to be someone in Danny's life who is no longer there, and Summer is upset that Danny is moving on. **

Niki: **I wonder what's going on. 0.0**

Toby: **Good question Niki 0.0**

I sighed, staring at my feet nervously. After what I had witnessed yesterday, I had become restless.

Yesterday after the little picnic we all had, Shadow and me had gone back to the park to retrieve my coat. When we got there, we witnessed something awful.

I had never seen Summer that upset before. And the look on her face after Danny had yelled at her…

I shuddered at the thought, having hoped never to see my best friend's expression that hurt before.

After all, this was Summer we were talking about. I had almost begun to believe that nothing could bring her spirits down. I see now that Summer was human, just like that rest of us.

Running my hand through my hair, I let out another sigh.

"You sigh a lot."

I jumped at the sound of Shadow's voice from behind. Whirling around, I looked at him in shock. "How long have you been standing there?"

"A while." He shrugged. Shacking my head at him, I smiled softly. "You okay?" he asked after a short pause.

"Sorry." I apologized. "I'm just… lost in thought I suppose."

"That's not surprising." He remarked. I flinched a bit, but couldn't argue. "I'll be okay." I said softly.

Giving a small nod, Shadow folded his arms. Shadow stared at the ground, he expression unchanging. It was if he was thinking of something himself.  
"Are… you okay?" I asked, tilting my head at him. Looking at me in surprise, he avoided eye contact.

"I was thinking back to what Summer said a few days ago. About this… Timber Festival at school." He explained.

"Oh that." I nodded. "Yeah, it is in two days."

Shadow nodded, his movements almost… Timid? No, those weren't the right words. Perhaps nervous?

"I heard Summer say that this is your last year, and you've never gone to it before. Why?"

I shrugged. "I suppose since… no one ever asked me before." Why did he want to know?

When he said nothing, I bit my bottom lip. Was the conversation over?

If that was all he wanted to know then I probably should leave. Turning to walk down the hall, I was caught off guard when he suddenly grabbed my hand.  
"Wait." He said.

Looking at him in surprise, I frowned. "W-What?" I asked nervously.  
"About the Timber Festival. I needed to ask you something." His tone was earnest as he stared at me solemnly. His intense gaze felt embarrassing for some reason and I blushed.

"W-What's that?" my heartbeat began to race. What was with this situation? Could it be that Shadow was trying to-?

His grip tightened around my hand, holding it firmly in place so that I could not leave.

"Alexandra I-"

**RING**

Both of us froze at the sound of the doorbell.

"Ah, I have to go get that." I said, looking over my shoulder. Turning away, I slowly pulled my hand out from Shadows. Before our fingertips separated, I slowed my pace a bit, holding onto his hand for as long as I could before I finally let go and continued down the hall.

Bringing my hand close to my chest, I blushed madly. W-What was that just now?  
Shacking the thoughts of my head I opened the door, smiling. "Hello?" My heart suddenly dropped.

Danny stood before me, frowning. Memories of yesterday came flashing back all over again.

"Is Summer here?" Danny inquired, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

"I'm afraid not." I said softly. "Do you need her for something?" I suddenly grew a little worried.  
"Not exactly." Danny shrugged. "I just needed to talk with her. She left though before I woke up, I was hoping you would know where she was." Danny rubbed the back of her neck, as if it was sore.

"I wish I did." I said honestly, gripping the door handle tightly. "I'll let you know if I see her though."

Danny nodded to me. "Thanks." Glancing to her left, she chuckled at the sight of Sonic and Knuckles throwing Niki into a large pile of leaves, causing a miniature explosion of color.

"Wha- GUYS!" I screamed angrily. "I just wracked those up." I stormed onto the porch, glaring at them.  
The boys flinched, grinning nervously at me. Niki slowly popped her head out of the pile staring at me like a fish out of water. Realizing she was in trouble she sunk back down into the pile.

"Niki." I hissed darkly, storming towards the pile and diving in after her. Sonic burst out into laughter, folding his arms behind his head. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted Danny, who was staring at him.

Tilting his head at her, he grinned. "Hey Danny."

"You're name is Sony, correct?" Danny called to Sonic. Momentarily forgetting his fake alias name, he quickly nodded.

"Yeah, that's me." He grinned.

Danny nodded, folding her arms. She stared at him for a long time, examining him from head to toe. "Can I ask you a favor Sony?" she finally spoke up.

"A favor?" he questioned.

Danny smiled.

-…-

Summer sighed, leaning against the bench in despair. A scowl plastered her face as she glared up at the sky. She felt awful, like some one had just ran over her with a steamroller then threw her into a pit filled with needles.

"That's sort of expression doesn't match your personality at all." A cocky voice called to her. Lifting her head, she lazily looked over her shoulder.

"Oh, Sony." She mumbled, looking back around towards the busy traffic before her.

"It's unusual to see you like this." Sonic chuckled, approaching the bench and leaning over the side of it.

"Your hair is unusual." She countered.

Sonic grimaced, "I told you already, it's naturally like this."

"Right, I definitely believe you Sony."

"And what about you?" he teased. "You're hair definitely isn't a natural white."

Summer shrugged. "Touché Sony." She left it at that, not bothering to answer him.

Frowning in disappointment, he jumped over the bench to sit beside her. "So, what are you doing here?"  
"Thinking." She mumbled.

Whistling in shock, Sonic glanced at her. "That's surprising."

Elbowing him, Summer gave him a sly smile.

"Ah there she is." He grinned in victory. Summer stared at him, obviously confused by his statement. "You smiled." He pointed out.

Realizing she had, Summer gawked at him.

"It's better when you smile." He announced, looking towards traffic.

Letting out a laugh, she flicked his forehead. "When did you become all mushy with words?"

Sonic cackled. "Since I realized you seemed a little down. Wanna talk?"

Summer scowled. "Did Danny send you?"  
"Maybe, maybe not."

"Well then head back, I'd rather be on my own today anyway." Rising to her feet, she started down the street.

"Summer, wait." Sonic called, walking after her.

"Just go back. I don't need a messenger." Summer came to halt when Sonic grabbed her wrist.

"I came here on my own free will Summer. If you don't want to talk fine, but I came all the way out here to find you, so the least you could do…" He paused to reach into his pocket. "Is spend the day with me." He pulled out a few gift cards to 1starbucks and some coins to the arcade a few blocks from there.

Staring at him surprise, she frowned. "Spend the day with you?" she repeated.

He nodded.

Sighing a bit, she shrugged. "…Fine. Only if I can get a doughnut at Starbucks too."

"Deal." Sonic laughed.

-000-

"Hey, where did that blue idiot go?" Niki whined. Having finally wracked the leaves back up by Alex's command, Niki was ready to jump in them once again. She could just wrack them up later anyway.

Knuckles shrugged, looking around the yard for Sonic.

"He left." Danny announced. Looking towards the porch, Niki tilted her head at the sight of Danny sitting calmly in one of the unfold-able chairs from the basement. A fresh glass of lemonade was in her hand, giving her arch throat some relief.

"Danny? You're still here?" Knuckles questioned.  
"I've been here since I've first got here. You two just haven't noticed with your flirting."

Feeling their cheeks heat up Niki stammered, "W-What are you talking about?"

"I was watching you two wrack up the leaves together. Don't think I don't know." The elder girl smirked at them.

Snapping their attentions to one another, then back at the lemonade-sipping adult, the two blushed madly.  
"W-We weren't flirting. We were just having fun." Knuckles stuttered quickly, a bright flush of red covering his cheeks.

"Right." Danny said sarcastically.

"It's true!"

"What's true?" Alex asked, stepping out onto the porch with another chair.

"Alex!" Niki whined. "Danny is teasing us!" she pointed to said Danny accusingly. Alex blinked, glancing at Danny who shrugged.

Looking back at her younger sister, she narrowed her eyes. "Did you finish?"  
"And you completely ignore my cry for help." Niki pouts. "And yes, yes I did." She motioned to the large pile. "Now, if you two will excuse us." She grabbed Knuckles sleeve. "Come! We shall leave these ignorant, and jerk like fools!" the she turned away, pulling Knuckles along with her.

The two young adults chuckled, amused at the two young, if not quiet dim, teens.

-0000-

"And, throw!" Summer jumped up, tossing the small copper coin into the fountain. Watching it go, Summer snapped her fingers when it reached the top, hitting the tip of the small jar and falling to the side.

They said that if you could get the coin into the cement jar into the top of the fountain, your wish would definitely come true.

After several failed attempts though, it seemed as if Summer would never get one into the jar.

"Come on Sony." She called over her shoulder. "You try!"

Sonic folded his arms, staring at the fountain wearily. Unless it was water you were supposed to drink, he wasn't too pleased with it.

"No thanks." He mumbled, staring towards the deathly light blue that switched from side to side.

Summer folded her arms. "What? Afraid that I can get it into the jar before you?"

"No." he glared towards her.

"Then come on!" she grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the fountain. "You big baby."  
"Summer no." Sonic pulled back, trying to escape from her unknowing grip.

"Oh come on. What's the big deal?" she pulled harder.

"Summer I mean it. Let go." Sonic's voice almost squeaked. With another pull, Summer had pulled Sonic a little closer to the fountain, enough for him to see just how deep it really was.

Though it wasn't much, it could still drown someone if pushed it.

"Just a little more-" she tried again. Sonic's arms magically gained a burst of energy and he whipped his hands away.

"NO!" Sonic suddenly screamed, jumping back so he actually slipped over the side of the path, falling back onto the grass. His wild panic and desperate cry was so sudden Summer was speechless, her arms lowering, laying limp at her side.

Sonic, still on the ground, crawled back a bit, eyes wide as he stared at the ground. "I-I…." he stammered.

Summer's let out a small gasp of realization. "You really are afraid of the water… aren't you?"

Sonic nodded meekly, avoiding the sight of the fountain at all costs. Glancing at the water, Summer turned back to her friend.

The water wasn't deep at all honestly, and reached half way from her knees and ankles if she were to step it. His fear must have been awful if he was afraid of only this amount.

Sonic struggled to regain his composer, his knees shacking like Jell-O.

"_It's not just a fear_…" Summer thought with dread. _"It's a phobia_." And she had just tried to force him to face it. Great going Summer, you win a prize for almost making a guy cry. Bravo.

Approaching the young teen, she rubbed the back of her head nervously.

"H-Hey." she said slowly, kneeling down next him. "I'm sorry man, I swear I didn't know you had such a big fear."

Glancing at her, Sonic shook his head. "No, it's not your fault." He cleared his throat. Great, now she knew his biggest fear. Not only that, but he had even showed her the side of him that can't handle that fear. She probably thought he was pathetic now.

Sitting in front of him, Summer reached out for his hands, taking them into hers. Looking at her in surprise, he tilted his head. "What?" he managed.

Summer brought his hands closer to her, leaning forward. Summer brought Sonic's hands to her forehead, pressing them together and closing her eyes. "I'm sorry." She said softly.

Too speechless for words, Sonic only stared. Summer? Apologizing? He wouldn't be surprised if the world suddenly blew up from that shocking revelation.

"Its okay." He mumbled. "But uh… what are you doing?"

Summer looked up at him, still holding his hands close. "What do you mean?" she questioned.  
"The forehead thing." He answered. "You put your forehead to my hands."

"Oh." She swung his hands back and forth a bit, trying to put together an explanation in her mind. "Well, when I was younger, when ever my family upset me, or did something to make me cry, they did this as an apology. I'm not sure why, but you knew they truly meant it if they did it." She explained, studying his hands carefully. She ran her thumbs over his knuckles as she spoke. She studied each bone with care, as if trying to measure them with one another.

After a while, she grinned up at him, nodding. "So come on, lets try again!" she pulled at his hands, pulling them both up to their feet.  
"Wha- try what again?" he demanded.

"The fountain." The declaration came to Sonic as an invitation to death.

"Did you just forget everything we just spoke about?!" he screamed, trying to pull his hands away.

"No, but this time it will be different."

"How so?" he scowled, glaring towards the fountain, hints of worry hidden in those emerald eyes.

"Because this time, we'll take our time, and I wont let go." Her grip tightened around his hands, squeezing them reassuringly. "For now, we will just approach the fountain. Maybe even throw a penny in like we are suppose to." Summer took a step back, waiting patiently for Sonic to follow.

Staring at her curiously, he shakily stepped forward.

"That's it Sony!" Summer burst out into cheer, causing a few others in the park to glance at them curiously, then back to their own conversations.

"It's not the amazing." Sonic laughed.

"Of course it is." Sonic paused, looking at her confused. "You trusted me, and stepped towards your fear… that's truly amazing." She gave him a wide toothy grin. Taken a back, Sonic said nothing. "Lets keep going, step # 2, we're coming at you!" she took a step back, Sonic feeling compelled to follow.

"You're really just trying to make a scene, aren't you?" he chuckled. A few more steps.

"Maybe I am." She shrugged. Another step, then another. Step after step they went, momentarily forgetting exactly where they were walking to.

After a while, the back of Summer's legs hit something cold. Looking over her shoulder, she realized it was the stone of the fountain. The two paused, gazing at the fountain in aww.  
"…We made it." Summer remarked.

"No, really?" Sonic snorted sarcastically, though his voice wavered revealing his true feelings.

Summer's grip tightened around his hand. "Wanna throw stuff?"

"Like what?" Sonic mumbled, his focus still on the watery death trap before him.

"Pennies." Summer pulled a few out of her pocket, holding them towards him. Glancing down at her palm, he slowly nodded.  
"Yeah." He agreed, grabbing a few.

"Alright, bet I can get one in the jar before you can." She smirked, taking the other half.

"Oh you're on." He laughed. Both of them threw together, aiming towards the top of the fountain, near the stone jar sitting at the top.

-0000-

"So, what sorts of guys are you interested in Alex?"

"EH?" I gasped in shock. Where did that question come from? For the past 10 minutes we had just been sitting on my porch, chatting about different subjects, when Danny suddenly brought this subject into discussions. "W-Why do you ask?"

Danny was silent. "I'll be honest…" She looked at me calmly. "I'm secretly really into those cute types of cliché romances." Her eyes sparkled.

Flinching, I stammered, "I-I'm not going out right now, if that is what you are asking."

"I'm not asking that." Danny pouted. "I'm asking if you are interested in someone right now. "

My throat tightened, suddenly feeling dry. "W-Well…"

Danny leaned in closer, trying to hear me. "Well?" she smirked.

Blushing, I shrugged. "I… don't know." I said softly

Danny tilted her head.

Letting out a sigh, I tried to explain. "What does it mean to 'like someone'? How do you know if you truly like them, or just get along with them?" Running my hand through my hair, I slouched down into my chair. "What does… love mean?" I placed my hand over my heart with a sigh.  
Danny stared at me, slowly smiling. "Love…"

I looked at her. Her smile was soft, as if she was recalling a nostalgic memory.

"Love is… a little hard to explain." Leaning over to me, she pointed at my hand. "I suppose you could say, love is when you feel a warm feeling… right here." She motioned to her own heart, then to mine.

"A warm feeling?" I asked.

With a grin, she nodded. "So don't worry. You'll know what love is, with time."

-0000-

Having entered Starbucks, Sonic and Summer were greeted by a random dance number.  
"What the…" Sonic mumbled as he watched several people in the store dance to the music currently being played by the radio.  
"Is this a dance party?" Summer gasped as she looked to the sign on the menu.

**DANCE PARTY!**

"It is!" She cheered. "Drinks, doughnuts, dancing? What more could this place have!" she fell to her knees, bowing to the sign above.  
Sonic laughed, pulling her back to her feet. "Come on, lets go order."

Grinning she nodded in agreement. When the two were able to collect their food and sit down, several songs had already passed.

Neither were really planning of getting up to join any of the dancers, and were just content on eating their food. That is until the tempo of the song suddenly changed to "Some Nights" by FUN.

Summer, practically spitting out her food onto Sonic, screamed. "I love this jam!" she cheered. Whipping his mouth from flying doughnut crumbs, Sonic nodded.  
"Awesome."

"Oh, lets go!" Summer grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet.  
"Seriously?" He deadpanned.

"Yes." She giggled, running out to join the others.

"But my doughnut." He whined.

"It will be there when we get back, so don't be a baby."

With that, they danced! Dancing with whatever dance moves that popped into their brains.

Though Summer had to ruin the cool little moment by doing a weird little chicken dance. Gave Sonic a good laugh though.

"Alright ladies and gentleman, we're going to slow things down a bit." The manager announced. "So grab a partner, hold them close, and dance your hearts outs." He nodded to the DJ who pressed a button, starting the song.

A soft tune filled the air, surrounding the café's guests with a lovely melody.

The song was "Raindrops" by Regina Spektor.

"_You don't know but that's okay. You might find me anyway. Don't you know that I belong arm in arm with you, baby?"_

Sonic and Summer froze, staring at the couples who had brought one another close, dancing slowly to the tune.

"Oh well-" Sonic was about to walk back to the table, when Summer grabbed his hand with a smirk.

"Dance with me." She insisted.  
"But we just danced."

"Chicken?"

"No." Sonic stepped toward her, instantly accepting the challenge. Instantly regretting it, Sonic stared at her, trying his best not to seem nervous. What does he do now?

Summer sighed, realizing he wasn't going to do anything on his own.

"Here, give me your hands." She ordered.

Slowly reaching his hands out, he gulped when she grabbed them. Summer placed his right on her upper forearm, while her left hand rested on his shoulder. With her right hand, she held onto Sonic's hand tightly.

"There." She smirked. "And… we go." She took the first step forward, Sonic following.

"_In a town that's cold and gray, we will have a sunny day. Don't you know that I belong arm in arm with you, baby?"_

Sonic frowned furiously, staring down at his feet awkwardly.

"You'll never learn how to dance if you stare at the ground." Summer commented with a smirk, leading him to the left to avoid being hit.

Sonic grinned nervously up at her, trying his best not to step on her feet.

"And usually, the guys would be the one to lead." Summer noted with a sly smile.

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Sonic stammered, "R-Right!"

"_Baby~! I do not know where does it go when it goes. _

Sonic slowly turned Summer towards the right, trying his best to remain calm. He had never done something like this before though. Don't get him wrong, Sonic loved to dance. Dancing at such a slow pace with a girl though… it was different. There was one time with Amy, though he wasn't willingly dancing with her.

_Suddenly though everything slows and I miss you soo~!"_

The more Sonic seemed to dance with Summer, the more her eyes seemed to get deeper. He felt as if those orange orbs were pulling him in, sucking him into and endless black hole of wonder. Something about them were so compelling, he just couldn't seem to look away.

"_Around each corner there's a chance, people searching glance to glance."_

Summer leaned a little closer, leaning her head against Sonic's shoulder. Shocked at the sudden movement, Sonic caught his breath. Why? Why was his heart beating so fast?

Even to him, his heart was beating so fast. Fast then it ever had.

"_Moving by real fast like insects and fish when they are scared."_

Summer let herself chuckle. "I know this song." She said, her voice murmuring into his ear, the hair on the back of his neck rising. His stomach suddenly felt warm, like fireflies has some how made there way into him, and were now dancing inside of him.

"_And they sing the same old song, though it's been so very long."_

Soon the tune reached his ear once more, but it was not the singer who sung those sweet words to him, it was Summer.

"_They sing rain drops fallin' on my head, but that does not mean that I am dead. And I do not know where does it go when it goes. Suddenly though everything's slow and I miss you sooo~!" _Summer sang softly into his ear. Her voice soft, almost a whisper. It was completely different then how her normal voice was. It was usually so confident and it was almost like she was laughing out every word she spoke. Her voice now though was sounded gentle, and filled with emotion. An emotion Sonic wasn't sure how to identify. The song no longer seemed to matter to him. Sonic could barely hear it over the crowd anyway.

"_You don't know but that's okay. You might find me anyway. Don't you know that I belong arm in arm with you baby~! In a town that is cold and gray! We will have a sunny day!" _

Summer's voice sounded like bells. Sonic had to resist his urge to close his eyes and fall asleep at the relaxing sound.

_Don't you know that I belong arm in arm with you, baby~! Babyy~! Baby…. Baby… dala la, do do dodo." _

"Ahaha! What a great song!' Summer suddenly pulled away, a grin plastered on her face. "I'll have to add that to my I-pod, don't ya think?" She turned back to him, tilting her head.

Shocked by her sudden question, Sonic nodded his head numbly.  
"Y-Yeah." He grumbled, pulling on his shirt collar.

-0000-

"Ow, ow, ow." Niki whined.  
"Sorry." Knuckles pulled his hands back in surprise.

"No. Just hurry please. My hair can't take this type of torture much longer."

Knuckles nodded, returning his hands back to Niki's head to retrieve the leaves that had made their way in there. "This is why you shouldn't jump into 17 different piles of leaves."

"I couldn't resist." The younger girl whined. Giving a small chuckle, Knuckles continued his work.

His fingers worked their ways through Niki's hair, trying to free the black locks from their leave like captors.

To be honest, Niki's hair was much softer then Knuckles thought it would be. He couldn't easily run his fingers through the long strings of hair, until he of course ran into some leaves.

"Well, we are back where we left off." Summer chuckled, falling back on the bench, giving her feet a break.

"Yup." Sonic plopped next to her.

"Hey Sonic."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks… for staying with me today." Summer grinned at him.

Grinning back at her, he gave her a thumbs-up.

"No problem."

Chuckling a bit, she nodded. "So hey, have you ever tried Freddie's ice cream?"

"Uh… no." he answered after some thought.

"Oh, okay, okay. You must try some. It's awesome." Summer jumped to her feet, regaining her energy. "Just wait here, and I'll go get some, it's right at the end of the street."

"I could just come with you."

"No way, you gotta save my spot." Summer motioned to her spot of the bench. "I always eat ice cream on that bench anyway."

"Why?' Sonic questioned.  
Summer paused, not expecting the question. "I uh… just always have, ever since I was little." She shrugged, looking away.

Knowing there was something more behind those words, he decided not to push it. "Alright, hurry back Sum."

"Right… Son." Summer cackled like a mad man.

"Ah, don't call me that, it sounds weird." He grimaced. Summer laughed, sticking her tongue at him before running down the street.

-0000-

"Did Danny leave?" Knuckles asked as Alex entered the kitchen. Nodding, she placed the chairs against the wall.

"Yeah…" She mumbled. Her voice was soft, almost a whisper.

Niki tilted her head a bit, staring at her sister confused. "You okay?"

"W-What? Oh… yeah." Alex nodded quickly, giving a weak grin. "Just tired and uh… what happened to you?"

"I got leaves stuck in my hair." Niki explained.  
"I'm uh… trying to get them out." Knuckles lifted up a chunk of Niki's hair, staring at it confused on how he would possibly untangle the leaves from it.

Staring at her two friends with a blank face, Alex exhaled. "Here, let me help you with that."

Chuckling, Niki grinned. "So what were you two talking about for so long."

"Everything I guess. What ever came to mind." Alex answered, pulling a few leaves out. "We even talked about you two, supposedly flirting with one another." She smirked.

"Gah!" the two flinched. "W-We were not flirting!"

-0000-

"I forgot to ask what flavor he preferred." Summer sighed as she trudged back down the street, towards the bench Sonic was waiting for her at. Summer smiled to herself. Two ice creams sat in her hands, both vanilla flavored. She hopes that would be okay with him.

She was glad Sonic had come to see her today. It helped take her mind off of… things. She frowned, suddenly remembering why she had been upset in the first place.

Perhaps… Perhaps Danny was right. Ever since yesterday, a nasty taste had been left her in mouth. She didn't mean to get so upset with Danny. She said things without meaning too.

In truth, she really wanted to say "Congratulations" with a big grin on her face. She was actually looking forward to it.

Of course though, her big mouth had to blurt something else though. Something she hoped she wouldn't have to bring up with Danny.

Something she had tried to forget, but knew she never would, for a long time now. Her past… her most horrid nightmare… her fear.

Shacking her head, she bit her bottom lip.

_Stop it Summer. Don't think about it too much. You'll end up like Alex if you do._

She chuckled to herself, stepping pass a few little kids who were running by.

As she turned around the corner, bright blue hair quickly came into sight. Yup there he was, right where she left him. She wanted to run to him, and call out his name.

If she did that, he would probably look over his shoulder and grin at her, wouldn't he?

Stepping forward, Summer froze. Something warm and bubble circled her stomach. It was feeling she wasn't sure how to explain.

It was warm and lead all the way up to her heart. Surrounding it and protecting it from all harm. Something in her mind flashed back to a day in her childhood.

A day she had almost forgotten.

"_Hey, Emil."_

"_Hmm?"_

"_What is love?"_

"_Love?"_

"_Yeah!" the small girl laughed, pulling on the older boys sleeve. _

"_Well love… love is…" the boy paused, thinking over his words. "Ah, love is when you always want to see someone. You can't wait to see their smile, their face, and just be by then. It is when you feel a nice warm feeling, right in your heart." He poked her forehead. _

"_Haha, Emil, that's not my heart. That is my brain!"_

"_What? You sure?"_

"_Yeah! Emil is stupid, just like big Sis Danny always says!"_

"_What? Danny really says I'm stupid. That can't be true! Because my little Summer knows the truth right?"_

_The small girl, Summer's own past self, shrugged. _

"_And that truth is, Summer has the smartest big brother in the world!" The older boy suddenly scooped up little Summer, lifting her over his head, as if she were flying. _

"_You're a weird big brother Emil! That is what you are!"_

Summer stood in silence, her memory rushing through her brain and heart like a forgotten, if not nostalgic dream.

Sonic on the other head, seemed to slowly sense Summer's presence, and look over his shoulder.

"Oh hey Sum, there you are." He grinned. "What were you doing all this time? Just standing there waiting for me to notice you-" he trailed off. "Summer?"

Something wet dripped against the concrete below. Melted ice cream, slide down Summer's wrists, falling downward.

The wet substance fell without any warning, shocking all who witnessed it.

"Summer… why…" Sonic choked on his own words.

"Why are you crying?"


	16. Chapter 16

Toby:** Last time on "Huh?", Danny showed up at Alex's house, wanting to know where in the world Summer had run off to. **

Niki:** Not sure, Alex invited Danny to stay for a bit. Un-announced to Alex however, Danny sent Sonic off to find the missing Summer!**

Toby: **Quick to find her, Sonic and Summer spent the next few hours talking about water phobias, throwing pennies at the fountain, and having a quick few dances. **

Niki: **Meanwhile during all of these, Knuckles and me played amongst the fallen leaves :3**

Toby: ***cough, cough* Flirting! *Cough, cough* Anyway, during Summer and Sonic's little, as you say, 'date' Summer had a sudden flash back of her past!**

Niki: **She had a sudden flash back of her brother. A brother that has been unspoken of, till now!**

Toby: **And with the flash back, Summer suddenly…cried?**

Niki: **Oh whoa, this is getting intense. Wonder what is going to happen next?**

Toby: **Lets read and find out, shall we?**

Niki and Toby: **Remember guys; don't forget to check out Allie Jenzie's Comic of "Huh?" The site to this comic is posted on her profile page, so be sure to check it out! :D**

Sonic tapped his foot wildly. His thoughts scrambled together within his brain, rushing through faster and faster with each passing second.

Not less than 1 hour ago, around 2:00 in the afternoon, Summer and him had been sitting on a bench, watching cars as they went by. Yet suddenly, when Summer went to go get ice cream, something happened.

Upon her return Sonic saw something he never thought he would see.

She had cried. Summer had cried.

Why? Why was she crying?!

He sighed, rubbing his temple in frustration. At that time, when he tried to ask why she had been crying, she smiled.

She smiled and said, "Those stupid onion ninja's now a days. Always sneaking up on people."

Knowing full well that was some weird lie she had made up, he tried to convince her to tell him. When he demanded to know what had upset her, Summer began to get defensive.

They started to scream at each other, drawing a crowd around them to stare.

With so many words spoken, half of them he didn't even remember, Summer ended the fight by throwing her ice cream at his face.

Which would explain why at the moment his nostrils were still filled with the scent of vanilla. Around the actually time the ice cream hit his face though, he didn't really think of the smell.

All he thought about was how Summer flipped him off as soon as the ice cream left her grip.

She flipped him off!

The crowd gasped, many said "Ohh" and snickered at the sight.

Then she stormed past the crowd and down the street. Of course, being who he was, he followed.

"Summer!" Sonic yelled angrily, smearing ice cream off of his face. "Did you really just flip me off?! Really?!" he demanded, quickly catching up to her.

"Leave me be!" Summer yelled, pushing through the crowds. _She didn't care if people stared. Heck, she didn't care if they made a news report about it for everyone in the city to see.  
She was pretty sure she saw someone recording the fight back there though. Would probably be seeing that on YouTube later._

"Not till you tell me why you were crying!" the persistent blue-headed man called behind her.

_This man just would drop it, would?_ "I wasn't crying!" Summer denied instantly

"Yes you were! Now tell me why." Summer ducked into an ally just as Sonic was about to grab her arm. "Summer!" he called, turning with her.

"It is none of your concern. Go away." Keeping her face down, Summer's shoulder stiffened, as Sonic got closer. "Just go away Sony." She said again.

_Couldn't he see that she needed some space? It was bad enough that she cried in front of him. That she showed him the weakest side of her. She did not need to explain her reasons for the tears. That was something, she didn't want to ever explain. _

Reaching out, Sonic grabbed her arm. Instantly fighting to pull away, Summer gritted her teeth. The two struggled against one another for a few seconds, pulling and shoving. Summer even got a good kick to his stomach.

"Summer stop… fighting me!" Sonic grabbed her other shoulder, pushing her up against the wall, forcing her to look at him. "Just stop!"

Growling in response, she spit in his face. _He has always liked that fiery spirit within Summer, but getting ice cream thrown at you, being flipped off, kicked in the stomach, and getting spit in the face… wasn't exactly something to be enjoyed._

Taking a moment to pause and keep his cool as spit dripped down his cheek, he glared at her. "Why won't you tell me?" he seethed. They were both breathing hard, orange eyes locked with emerald green.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," she muttered.

"Well after all the crap you just put me through, yeah, I think you do," Sonic argued.

Summer scowled, yanking her wrists in attempts to get free, "The sun was in my eyes, they are sensitive,"

"Bull,"

"How would you know Sony? You don't know me at all!" Summer snapped at him.

"I know for a fact your eyes aren't sensitive, so stop trying to lie to me," he said abruptly. _What was with this girl? Why did he always feel so infuriated by her? Sonic considered himself as a very even-tempered man. He could take a lot of things and never lose his cool. _

_Yet for some reason, every time, this girl made him snap! She made him want to tear out all his hair and slam his head into a wall. Yet, at the same time, she made him want to grin like there was no tomorrow. _

There was a small pause between then. Both stared at each other, waiting to see what the other was going to do.

Seeing how Sonic was waiting for her to say something, Summer frowned, "Let… me… go." she hissed darkly. "I mean it Sony, this is your last chance."

"Or else what?" he challenged.

"I will show you no mercy," she threatened.

_He felt like smirking. She had no idea what, or who, she was dealing with. Which in a way, sort of brought him a little down. Summer had no idea who he really was. What he could do, or what he was capable off. _

_Would you count something like this as lying? In this world, he was Sony Hedge. That was true. But in truth, he wasn't from this world, and was actually Sonic the Hedgehog. _

_So of course it would probably be put at a lie for not telling her all of that. _

_For a split second, he honestly felt like telling Summer. Right there and then. Who he was, the others, everything. He desperately wanted her to know the truth. _

Yet of course, Summer had to ruin it with her next couple of choices.

In a set of quick motions, Sonic found himself collapsed on the ground, curled up in a little ball and groaning in utter pain.

Yup, she had done it. She had lifted her foot and kicked that precious little area every man fears to be kicked.

Yeah, that was Summer for you. Get her raging, and she will show no mercy.

Which is why his is back at Alex's home now, with an ice pack held delicately to his crotch.

After Summer had kicked him, she ran off. He tried to go after her, he really did. _But man! Could that girl kick!_

_The very thought of her infuriated him, yet he had to admit… that girl could hold her own, that was for sure. _

"So..." Niki, who had so generously supplied Sonic with his lovely ice pack, appeared from the hall. Folding her arms, she casually leaned against the wall giving him the, "_I am really amused by this whole situation, yet am a little concerned," _look. "What happened to you?" she motioned to the ice pack.

"Summer happened," he grumbled.

"Hah!" Niki cackled, "She kick ya?"

"…Maybe," he avoided her judging gaze.

"Oh-ho. What did you do? Make fun of her? Laugh at her beliefs in the cookie monster? Threaten to destroy all the frogs in the world? She is very sensitive when it comes to her froggies y'know."

"I know that," Sonic sighed. Hunching forward a bit, he buried his head in his hands. Niki, realizing that Sonic was seriously upset, stepped towards him.

"Hey," she said softly, coming to sit next to him on the couch, "What is wrong?"

Sonic looked at her, not sure where to begin. "I don't even know," he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "This whole day has been nothing but… emotionally exhausting."

"Oh, emotions huh? This must be bad," Niki nodded. "If we are going to do this though," she held up a hand to stop him from continuing his explanation, "We're going to need all the advice we can get," With that Niki began to call to Alex. In a few seconds Alex appeared from up the stairs, looking at them confused.

"What is going on here?" Alex tilted her head.  
"Sonic is having girl troubles," Niki explained.  
"I am not," he argued.

Alex, very interested in the situation, was quick to join in. "So? What's is wrong?" she sat next to her sister, looking at Sonic curiously.

With a small, hesitant sigh, Sonic began to explain. He told his story of how he found Summer at a bench in town, and spent a few hours with her. How they danced, and threw pennies at the fountain.

"Oh!" Alex smiled, "So that is where you ran off to."

"I was wondering why my Starbucks gift card had gone missing," Niki glared at the blue-headed male.

Sonic chuckled nervously. He finished off the story by telling them of the incident with the ice cream, and how they had a fight when she wouldn't explain why she was crying.

"She had been crying?!" Alex gasped, "Why? What for?"

"Yeah Sonic! What did you do!?" Niki demanded angrily

"I didn't do anything!" he defended himself. "She went to get ice cream, and then suddenly… tears!" he threw his arms up for emphasis.

The two girls in front of him exchanged puzzled looks.

"She was crying," Niki mumbled softly.

"Something must be really wrong," Alex concluded.

"That is what I was thinking. When I tried to ask her though, we got into an argument and well…" he motioned to the ice pack. "This happened."

"Oh," Alex flinched, "She kicked you?"

"Yeah,"

"That's rough buddy," The KuroBara siblings nodded their heads in pity.

"Summer truly shows no mercy," Alex sighed, "Was she wearing the pointed boots today?"  
"…Yes," Sonic slouched in depression.

"Jeez… maybe you should go to a doctor, just in case she seriously injured you." Niki suggested softly.

"Summer wouldn't do that. I'm sure she angled her foot so that it wouldn't cause too much damage." Alex argued.

"Oh, that is true," Niki nodded.

Sonic gawked at the two. They were talking as if this was nothing! Being kicked… where he had been kicked, was not nothing!

"Okay well, if it still hurts tomorrow and is um… bruising or something, go to a doctor." Alex commanded, her voice sounding a little nervous from the topic.  
"Haha, what an awkward conversation," Niki snickered

"Shut up," the blond headed sister turned to her younger sibling.

Sticking her tongue at her older sister, Niki looked back to Sonic. "So, how long have you had that ice pack? An hour?"

"Yeah, I think." Sonic nodded.

The black-headed sister nodded, "Kay, we should probably get you a new one." She rose to her feet, Alex joining her.  
"Would the whole, 'switching from a ice pack to a heat pack' work for something like this?" Alex asked.

Niki paused, looking Sonic over, "I dunno, maybe. We should look it up," the two nodded.

Sonic smiled at the two. He felt really lucky to have these two with him. They were both so kind, yet always gave him a good laugh.

Yet, even with these thoughts, Sonic couldn't help but think back to Summer. Where was she now? Did she get home safely? He hoped she didn't go running off to one of the smoking circles.

Don't get the wrong idea, Summer did not smoke. However she did hang out with a few people who did. He could always tell because there was always a small lingering smell on Summer's cloths.

Sonic even remembered a few days ago when Alex had scolded Summer for how she smelled. Alex knew Summer didn't smoke, but knew it was still dangerous to her health if she hung around people who did. The smoke was still in the air she breathed after all.

Luckily though, Summer didn't hang out with that group often. And when she did, it was only to discuss her new plans on releasing frogs and other things into the school.

None of that mattered though, did it?

All that did matter was that she was out there alone right now. Was she crying again? He hoped she had at least gotten home and gotten herself warm.

"Sonic," Alex placed a hand on his shoulder. It made him jump and he snapped his attention to her, "Don't worry about it too much. Summer is the type of girl who doesn't like to depend on others too much. If she has a problem, she'll try to handle it all by herself. Regardless of how hard it may be to accomplish."

"I know," Sonic sighed, "But still…"

Alex and Niki exchanged knowing looks. Sonic was a hero. So it was only natural that he would want to help Summer as much as he could. But Summer was just the type of girl who didn't want help. She didn't want others to take pity on her. She felt it was a sign of weakness when she couldn't do something herself.

"Summer is a tough girl Sonic. She is still only human though," Alex smiled to him. "She will always be the way she is. Independent, strong, and never wanting anyone's help. But a time will come when her walls she has built up so high will break. She will need a shoulder to cry on. She has already cried in front of you, which is a huge sign that she opening up to you," she announced, "She will tell you what is wrong in due time. You just have to wait. I've noticed something has been up with her too. I think it is something that has been bugging her for a long time. So just give her a few more days."

Sonic looked at Alex, wide emerald eyes meeting light blue. "Thanks Alex, Niki," he smiled honestly.

With wide grins the two nodded.

"So come now Sonic, cheer up." Niki leaned down, giving the young hero a sisterly kiss on the cheek. With a chuckle he nodded.

"I'll try."

Suddenly the oven began to beep. With a jolt of surprise Alex rushed to the kitchen, quickly placing on her oven mitts to pull out a large pie from inside.  
"Why did you make a pie?" Niki questioned following from behind with Sonic, who walking a little funny.  
"I made it for Toby." She answered simply. _(Remember Toby? From chapter 5? He was the one who made Sonic Shadow and Knuckles their fake ID's)_

"Why?" the two younger teens questioned.

"Because he asked for one, and I still owe him for making the boys fake IDs." Alex placed the pie on the stove, letting it cool.

Niki rubbed her chin," I still question how he was so OK with the idea of making 3 boys fake ID's and such,"

"I'm concerned to how he knows how to make such realistic ID." Alex sighed.

"Ah, true," her sister nodded in agreement.

"So then you'll be leaving to give that to him?" Sonic asked, motioning to the pie.

Alex nodded. "Yeah. It will only take a few minutes. After that, I think I'll head over to Summer place. In a times like these, the sure fire way to cheer up a Summer is giving her pizza, and a fresh batch of cookies,"

"I think that cheers up anybody," Niki chuckled.  
"Tell her I uh… said 'hello' when you see her," Sonic said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Will do Sonic," Alex said with a quick smile.

Sonic grinned, walking awkwardly towards the fridge.

Summer and Alex stared as he shuffled from side to side, careful to make sure neither of his legs touched the other.  
"Dude…" Niki said slowly, "… You look like a penguin."

The hedgehog turned human froze, glaring at us furiously. "Shut up," he pointed to the two.  
"Sonic Hun… go see a doctor if it hurts that bad," Alex pleaded, struggling to hold in her laughter.

"No. I'm fine," grabbing a drink, he waddled out of the room. The two girls began to laugh, unable to control it any longer.

"O-Okay," Alex cackled, "I'm heading out."

"Kay," Niki whipped away a joyful tear from her eye. "I'll get to work on getting Mr. Penguin another ice pack."

"I look nothing like a penguin!" Sonic yelled from the living room. He really hoped that Knuckles and Shadow would stay upstairs for the rest of the day. They would never let him live it down if they saw him like this.

**Alex POV**

Knocking on the door, I twirled the pie in my hands.

Cherry pie, Toby's favorite flavor.

As if sensing my arrival, Toby, the 23 year old computer maniac, threw open the door, grinning widely. His grin was not for me though. All his attention was on the pie.

I gave him a small smile. Same old Toby. Always dressed in the small baggy jeans, dark green sweater, with a messy bush of hair on top of his head.

"Pie!" Toby cheered. "Come on in, come on in," he gestured for me to follow before he ran down his hall, jumping and skipping like a kid in a candy store. With a chuckle, I stepped inside and closed the door with the back of my foot, following after the older man.

Entering his kitchen, I blinked at the sight of several dozens of apples littering the kitchen Table. Most of them had been peeled clean of their skin, while some were only half way.

Toby was already sitting at his table, his trusty pocketknife in his grip as he continued to skin the apple.

"You know, the skin is a large part of the protein of apples," I pointed out softly. Pouting at the apple, Toby shrugged.  
"The skin tastes awful,"

"It is good for you,"

"Bleh,"

With a sigh I shook my head at him. "You are a strange man Toby," I announced.

"Strange is a matter of perspective," he smirked over his shoulder.  
"Is it really?" I snickered, lifting the pie out to him. "Anyway, here if your pie. Like I promised." My goal for the day suddenly came back into my brain. I had to go see Summer and figure out what was going on. Meaning that I had no time to waste with Toby and his antics.

"What, got somewhere to be?" he blinked, seeing how I was rushing.  
"Oh! W-Well… sort of. I need to go find my friend as soon as possible. I'm worried about her," I explained. Taking the pie from my hands, Toby nodded.

"Is it Summer? Well, of course it probably has to be her, she is your ONLY friend after all."

"W-Wha- she is not my ONLY friend. Sony and Knuck are my friends too!" I gawked at him, quick to defend myself.

"Right, right, those 'exchange student' boys." Toby looked at me with a blank look.

So he was still thinking of that, huh? Well, who would blame him? With how this society was now a days, anyone could end up being some lunatic or worst.

"Wait-" Toby suddenly stuck out his lower lip, puzzled, "What about the other one? Shad was his name? You didn't say his name. Is he your friend?"

I blushed, "Oh well, yeah-" I began to trail off when Toby smirked. I clamped my mouth shut, staring at him nervously.

He leaned in a bit, looking smug. "Ohh? Alex, is it possible that you-"

"No!" I squeaked. "It isn't like that!"

With a hardy chuckle, Toby nodded, "Alright Alex. What ever you say."

I pouted at the older man. He always teased me! Ever since I was little. He found some sort of pleasure from it apparently.

"You're a jerk," I muttered. "Always being so mean,"

"How am I being mean Alex? To be honest, I didn't even say anything. You just assumed I was going to say something that might embarrass you," he stated simply.

I rolled my eyes. "That is being mean," I concluded.

"Sure it is."

There was a small silence between us as I checked my pockets to make sure I had everything before I was on my way. As I went through my mental checklist, I looked to Toby. He was still smiling as he stared at the pie, circling it within his hands to make check the whole perimeter.

He must have been thinking of something other than pie though, fore his smile slowly fell. "Alex," he glanced at me. "That friend you said you are worried about. It _is _Summer, right?"

Hesitating from my search, I nodded, "Yes. Why do you ask?"

Setting the pie down, Toby reached for his pocketknife and another apple.

Was Toby concerned as well? Toby had known both Summer and me since we were just kids. Actually, now that I thought about, Summer and Toby always seemed rather close.

How I had not noticed it before, I wasn't sure. They way they acted with each other though; it was as if they had known each other since birth.

"Well, it isn't often that Summer is down. Something must be really bothering her," Toby pulled me out of my thoughts. His focus stayed upon the apple in his hands.

"My thoughts exactly," I ran my fingers through my hair, "Problem is, I don't know exactly what the problem is,"

"School? Home? …Boys?"

"Please," I chuckled at the last guess. "Summer upset over boys? She is so much more of a heart breaker then they could ever hope to be,"

"Hah!" he snorted, "That is true. She doesn't show mercy at all. Though it doesn't help that she has never liked any of the guys who have tried to 'put the moves' on her,"

I laughed at that, "Got that right." I paused. Despite that though, this whole thing seem to get worst after Sonic and Summer spent a few hours together.

_Could it be… that maybe, Summer was upset because of Sonic? _

_No wait, that can't be it. It might have something to due with it, but I had a feeling it wasn't the whole story. _

_There was something going on between Summer and Sonic, that was for sure, but there was something deeper to this. Something that started long before Sonic. _

_Thinking back to when this first began, my mind was drawn to Danny. Danny and Summer had that fight only yesterday, which was when all this really went down hill. _

_Perhaps the problem had something to do with Danny and her engagement? _

"Toby." I spoke softly.

"Hmm?" his concentration stayed on the apple in his hands as he peeled it with his pocketknife.

"…You know Danny right?"

"Dannyyyyyy?" he drew out the name, wanting a last name.

"Loke. Danny Loke," I answered.

His eyes shinning with realization, he nodded, "I went to high school with her." He smiled.

"So then… you know her well?" I bit my bottom lip. _It was too late to back out of this conversation now that I had started it. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea though. Perhaps I shouldn't get involved?_

_However my best friend was in pain because of whatever was going on, so I have to know. If I was ever going to find out how to help her, I would need information. _

Toby glanced at me. "I wouldn't say I'm her best bud. But yeah, we're good friends. Hung out every day at lunch. The gang, her and me. Ah what great times those were." He sighed contently.

"Can I ask you something then?"

"As long as it isn't why I name my care Pippin, sure thing Alex." Toby finished peeling the apple, placing it on the table, and began on the next.

"Okay…" I took a shaky breath, working up my courage. "I need to know Toby. Something has been… odd lately. Especially with Summer."

Toby paused from his apple peeling, his smile slowly curling downward. "Go on." He motioned.

"Ever since Danny came back, Summer has been… down. And when Danny announced she is engaged, it made it worst."

Without a word, Toby placed his knife and apple on the table, folding his arms. "I wouldn't exactly blame her." He mumbled softly.

I tilted my head. "So you know what is going on?"

Giving me a tired smile, he nodded. "Before I continue Alex, don't feel bad that Summer hasn't talked to you about this. It is something that is just… too painful for her to talk about."

That worried me

"Why?" I said softly, my voice almost a whisper. _For something to be painful for Summer… it just didn't seem possible._

Looking at me, Toby seemed to weigh his options on whether it would be a good idea to tell me this important info or not. Finally coming to a decision, his face grew grim. "It happened 8 years ago. When I was still in High school. I was about your age, just about to graduate in a few months along with Daniel and…" his voice died out, pain forming in his eyes. Though his mouth was closed, you could tell he was gritting his teeth.

"And…who?" I spoke attentively.

"…Emil." He spoke faintly. "He was Daniel's boyfriend at the time."

_At the time._

The way he said that. It sounded so pained, and forced. Like he had to use all his strength not to fall apart.

"I knew Emil for years. We had gone to school together since 2nd grade. He was my best friend." Toby beamed, proud at this acknowledgement. "We did everything together. Well, unless Daniel was around. He was always so clingy to her. Did everything for her. She never minded." Toby smiled. "They loved each other. What they had was something every one in this world hopes to find one day. Something one was truly lucky to find."

_Love_

I gave him a small smile. Something in the back of my mind though begged me to ask the question. "So, the one Daniel is marrying is Emil?"

Toby shook his head. "No. Daniel is marrying another, I believe his name is Luke or something." He shook it off absentmindedly. "Daniel has only told me a few things about him. I actually am going to met him on the day of the wedding."

_What? If Daniel and Emil loved each other though, then why did they break up? Perhaps there were just too many things that separated them. _

"And I know what you are thinking," Toby cut in between my thoughts. "But no, they didn't break up. Those two never would have broken up if they had been given the choice."

"W-What do you mean?"

Toby bit his bottom lip. "Eight years ago… Emil… passed away."

I leaned forward, covering my mouth with my hand. "He… passed away?" I repeated softly. "How?"

"It was raining." Toby muttered to himself. "Emil was just coming back from track and took a short cut through the park. No one was really around, and I guess he stopped by that old well. Y'know, the one they filled in."

I nodded. I had always wondered why they had filled in that well. This must have been the reason why.

"They think he was throwing in some pennies, making a wish. He always likes wells and fountains. He must have leaned in too far though and one of the stones around it gave out, and he fell. Hit his head when he… he got to t-the… the bottom." Toby's voice cracked and his covered his eyes. "Just because he wanted to make a wish…" he sniffed. "That just shows how unfair this world is."

I felt numb. My face felt drained of color and set in stone.

_Oh my gosh_

I slowly reached out, taking his hand. "I'm…. so sorry." I felt like crying. Looking at me in surprise, he gripped my hand, glad for the comfort. After a few moments of silence as Toby rubbed at his eyes, he took a deep breath.

"I uh… got a little off track. This doesn't really explain to you why Summer is upset, huh?" he chuckled dryly.  
"It's okay." I said quickly. _Who could blame the guy?_

Smiling at me, glad I understood, he continued. "You see, Emil was very important to Summer. Very important."

I frowned, tilting my head. I wanted him to tell me, yet at the same time… I didn't want to know. I had a sickling feeling in my gut about the whole thing.

"Emil was her brother." Sick realization hit me.

"…What?" I whispered softly.

_Oh god… Emil was Summer's…? How did I not know this?! How had I not been aware that Summer had a brother? If it was 8 years ago then that might explain why. I had only met Summer 7 years ago. And I am sure talking about a brother who had passed away wasn't something Summer would constantly talk about. _

Feeling as though my food from lunch might resurface, I covered her mouth. Toby tightened his grip on my hand.

"Even though she was only eight, Summer could see how much Daniel and Emil loved each other. She knew that those two would be together for the rest of their lives. So to know that Daniel is moving on, without her brother… it is reminding her of the fact that her brother is no longer here." He explained, taking a shaky breath, "I think to her… the thought of accepting her brother's death, scares her. You see, when Emil passed away, everyone was heart broken. Summer's parents hadn't been seen for almost two months before they began to show up at work again, and even then they only came a few days every week. Danny stopped coming to school for a while and… I got addicted to some drugs."

I looked up at him in shock. _I hadn't ever seen that. Though, now that the thought crossed my mind: the first year I met Toby, when I was 12, he always had large bags under his eyes. He slurred his words a bit, and had a terrible temper. After some time he began to change and become the Toby that I know today. _

"I'm better now, as you can see," he gave me a comforting smile, which quickly fell. He looked ashamed in himself. "I was a different man during those times. I hope I didn't… change the way you think of me because of that."

"What? No! Not at all." I said quickly, shocked that he would even think that. _Who could blame him for something like that? _

_To lose your best friend? It must have been so hard for him. I don't think I could take it if I lost Summer._

My words comforted him more then I thought they would, and he smiled in relief. "Thank you Alex." With a short nod, he returned to the story, "After some time, all of us slowly begun to accept what had happened. Summer though… her heart never healed." He bit his bottom lip. "Summer stopped eating, stopped sleeping… stopped talking. She didn't respond to anything we tried. She just sat there, and stared. The only times she did talk was when she had nightmares. That was the worst part."

I listened in silence, letting everything sink in slowly.

"A year later after Emil passed away, Summer showed signs of improvement. She ate more, and went outside more. However she had stopped talking to any friends she had before and was always on her own. Her parents were just overjoyed she wanted to get out of the house." He suddenly smiled, as if he remembered some old nostalgic memory, "Her parents constantly gave the gang and me feed back. Cause Summer, was like a little sister to all of us. So when they told us that Summer had made a new friend, you could imagine how happy we were." He looked at me, smiling brightly.

"Eh?" I tilted my head.

Toby snorted, laughing at my expression. "Don't you get it?" he mused.

I frowned, "Um… no? What is so funny?" _I didn't understand what he was talking about. Summer had many friends._

With a small, very amused, sigh, Toby began to explain, "A year and a half after Emil passed away, Summer's parents told me that she began to talk again. I guess she was tired of being all-alone, and tried to hang out with others again. However, it seemed as though she forgot how to talk with others." He looked to the ceiling. "She yelled _everything _she said. A lot of the kids got annoyed at her easily because of that and stayed away from her. Summer never really cared for bullies and, well, beat them up."

I covered my mouth, stopping a laugh. "Really? That girl… is something else," _That was Summer for you. _

Toby snickered, "Yup. She beat them up. Summer stopped trying to hang out with others after that. Till one day, 7 years ago, when she went ice-skating. That was when she ran into a girl with light blue eyes and curly blond hair,"

I froze. _Wait, did Toby mean...?_

"The _girl_, even though Summer had just ran her over, went over to help her up. Summer, being who she was, screamed at the girl, though she only meant to say 'hi'." Toby was grinning like a mad man now. "The girl with the curly blond hair and blue eyes laughed. She laughed at Summer! She said Summer was funny and smiled at her. The two became each other's first friends, and best friends. And well… the rest is history."

_(Think back to the end of chapter 9, and the end of chapter 13? When Alex and Summer were explaining how they met each other? Well, here is where it all comes together!)_

I slowly covered my mouth. Was I crying?

From Toby shocked expression, I must have been.

"Y-You're saying that… that Summer..." I choked out my words. "I was her… first friend too? That I-" I sniffled.

Toby gave me a soft smile, reaching out to pat my back, "You helped Summer smile again Alex." He took my hand. "Alex, I wanted to say this to you since the moment I found out Summer and you were friends."

I paused from rubbing my tears to look at him with blurry eyes.

"I wasn't able to protect or help Summer in any way after Emil died. I was so lost in my own selfishness; I didn't see how much she needed me. However, you stepped up, and you helped her in more ways then I ever could. So-" he leaned forward, bowing to me. "Thank you very much for being Summer's friend!"

_I admit, after those next words, I broke down. I had no idea that Summer had been through such pain, and to know that some how I had helped her through it… I didn't matter if I never found love in this world. _

_To know that I helped a person smile again, was enough for me to live happily for the rest of my life. _

After that, I cried for a few minutes. I was thankful Toby didn't say anything, and just say there with me. He was a really nice guy.

_I'm glad I met him. He was like a role model to me. He always knew the right things to say, and gave me the exact advice, or info I needed. I was thankful he told me Summer's story, even if it was just as painful for him. _

When the story was said and done, and I stopped crying like a baby, he made me a piece of pie. He said I deserved it after listening to him babble on like he did.

I didn't want to argue.

So for the next 30 minutes we stayed like that, eating our pie and sharing tales of odd adventures of Summer riding a blue unicorn name Sparkle Pants.

I wasn't even sure how we got on the subject ourselves.

It helped lift out spirits though.

_I would have to tell Summer about them later. She could make them into a children's book. I could be her editor and we would tour around the world, spreading Sparkle Pants name throughout the world!_

_That would make her laugh. Which right now, I really wanted to hear. To hear her laugh, and see her grin. That way, I would know everything would be okay. _

_That Sonic and her would apologize to each other. Summer would attend Danny's wedding, and send her off with a joke or two. We would all go to the Timber Festival together, regardless if we had dates or not, and we would party. We would have fun, and I would tell Summer how important she was in my life. _

_How thankful I was to have her as my friend. _

_Then maybe, just maybe, I could work up my courage. Just like Summer always did, and say how I felt. Say how I felt about everything. _

_How I felt about Niki, Summer, Sonic, Knuckles, Toby, my team, hockey, school and… and Shadow. _

_I could think about that later though, couldn't I? Right now, I had to get home and have a serious chat with Niki. _

_I think it was about time we told Summer the truth. The whole truth. _

_Starting with explaining that Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow are not foreign exchange students. And hopefully, we would have enough time to explain to her who they are before she went off on a wild rampage for use deceiving her and letting complete strangers into the house. _

_Yeah so… these next few hours were going to be hard. _


	17. Chapter 17

Toby: **Last time on "Huh?" Sonic, after taking a large blow to his pride (haha), explained to Niki and Alex that something was wrong with Summer. **

Niki: **Alex, being the worried best friend that she is, decided she would confront Summer about the issue later that day after she dropped off a pie of Toby's house**

Toby: **Upon arriving at my house, Alex began to ask about Danny.**

Niki: **Toby explained how he had known Danny in High school, along with his best friend, Emil**

Toby: **Who I always explained, was Summer's older brother who had passed away eight years ago. **

Niki: **Shocked by this information, Alex came to the conclusion that perhaps it was time that Summer finally knows the truth about Shadow and the others. **

Toby: **I don't even know what the truth about those guys is. **

Niki: **They are foreign exchange student. **

Toby: **That's a bunch of crap! I know that isn't the truth!**

Niki: **…Blah. MOVING ON! Start the chapter!  
**Toby: **Niki! Tell me the truth!**

Niki: **You wouldn't be able to comprehend it anyway! You're not a fangirl like Alex and me are!**

Toby: **What does that even mean?!**

Niki: **Exactly my point!**

_SUMMER'S POV_

_I'm so stupid. Man, I'm the stupidest person alive! I should just crawl under a rock right now and die. Yeah, that actually sounds like a good plan. Maybe I should do that? Where would I find the nearest rock big enough to accomplish that though? _

_Maybe there is some construction sight close by? I think there is one down 72__nd__. Hmm, yeah, and I can stop and get some food on the way there… Food. Yeah, I'm hungry. I need food~!_  
_No wait- focus, focus. Focusing now. Oh yeah!_

_ I gotta set things right. I just gotta go to Alex's house, go right up to Sony, and apologize. Then I have to yell at him for making me drop my ice cream. _

_Okay, I've got a plan… now how was I going to apologize? _

Perhaps I should practice what I say first?

'_Hey Sony, sorry I kicked ya in the junk man. No hard feelings?"  
_Okay, no. That was awful

'_Sony! Buddy! Hey! So um, yeah, I kicked yeah, sorry about that man.'_

I don't think that will work either.

_"Sony, so yup, you saw me crying, and I kicked yeah right in the batteries. It was fair since you wouldn't leave me be. So we cool?"_

Why was this so hard!?

Trudging up the Kurabara house's front steps, I opened the front door. Usually someone would knock before entering another's house, but I had been doing it for years, so it was fine.

Peeking my head inside, I was sort of relived to find no one was in the hall. Quietly closing the door, I moved swiftly down the hall.

_Maybe this wasn't a good idea? He is probably still mad. I know I would be if I was in his position. I'm not a guy though… Oh but, this is Sony we're talking about. He's a pretty laid back guy. _

_…Should I give him a little space though? Maybe a day or two? _

_I heard giving people some space is one of the best things to do. That way they have a chance to clear their heads and it gives you a chance to figure out what in the world you are going to say to them when you see them. _

Stopping at the door leaning into the back room/kitchen, I sighed inwardly.

_Yup, this isn't going to work out. I should just head back and try again some other time. I've never been one to apologize anyway. _

_It would be best if I just think this through… yeah. _

_It isn't like I'm avoiding it or anything, don't be ridiculous. Cause I don't run away from things! _

I wanted to sigh again, knowing I was just lying to myself. Leaning my forehead against the door, I pouted at the ground.

_When had things become this complicated between Sony and me? Why couldn't it just go back to normal when we would goof around, shove each other and just have fun? Like this morning. _

_It was some of the best fun I had ever had honestly. _

_That is until two hours ago when I suddenly had a stupid flash back and cried. _

_I still can't believe I did that! Stupid eyes and brain and… stupid me!_

_Sony probably thought I was a cry baby now. Though, it didn't help that he just wouldn't drop the subject. _

_I mean, don't get me wrong, it was sort of sweet and junk how he was concerned but… that doesn't mean he's gotta know what I'm goin' through… right? _

_If I was in his shoes though, and it was him crying, I would want to know too. Like, the whole water phobia he's got. I definitely wanted to know about something like that! _

_Just in case something happened later, like he fell into a pool without some floaties or something. That way I would know I have to jump in there and get him out of there ASAP so he isn't freaking out and drowning. _

_So then…_

I narrowed my eyes a bit.

_Maybe I should tell him what is going on? I haven't even told Alex yet though. Well, at least, I don't think she knows about it. _

_I've never…. Told her about my brother before, but just because I didn't bring it up doesn't mean she doesn't already know. _

_She doesn't seem to though. Maybe I should tell her first, just in case?_

"It'd be only fair." I whispered to myself.

_Alex was my Best friend after all._

With a slow nod, I reached for the door handle.

"I wonder if… if I should tell Summer the truth." A voice suddenly spoke up from the other side of the door. My hand froze at the sound of my name, floating in place just above the handle.

_Alex? _

_Oh well, it had to be Alex. This was her house._

There was a pause "…Truth?" another voice questioned.

_That sounded like Niki. Why were they talking about me?_

I paused, my palm resting against the door handle, feeling the cold metal. It sent a small shiver up my spine, giving me an uneasy feeling.

"Y'know… about the guys."

_They must have been talking about Sony, Knuck and Shad. But… what did they mean by telling me the truth?_

"Tell her _that_? Alex, I don't even think she would believe us in the first place. She would probably think we were pulling her leg." Niki tried to reason.

'I know but, I hate that I am basically lying to her! She's my best friend Niki. I've _never _lied to her before. Every time I look at her, I'm just reminded of the fact that I am." Alex sighed miserably.

"I know Alexandra." Niki said softly, "I know. But, we have to think rationally about this. Summer would never believe us."

"She might." Alex suddenly interjected.

_Believe what? _  
"Okay, you're right, maybe she will. That doesn't change how she will react when she finds out that the three guys she met, befriended, and hung out with, have lied to her about who they really are. It also doesn't change the fact that… we've lied to her."

_…What?_

Alex was silent for a long time, "Yeah," she slowly agreed, "But is keeping it from her really the best thing to do? I know we can trust her with this Niki."

Niki sighed. "Don't ask me thinks like that. You know I don't know the answer. I've honestly wanted to tell her from the very beginning. But now that so much time has passed… I don't know if I would want to know if I was in her shoes."

Alex mumbled, "You're probably right. And with what is going on with Summer right now-"

"What? What's going on?" Niki questioned

"Oh! Uh… just some stuff with Danny," Alex's voice grew nervous.

_Was the thing with Danny and me really that obvious? It is Alex though, so she probably figured it out easily. Or… she talked to Danny or something. _  
"Stuff? What sort of stuff? Nothing bad right?"

"It is nothing Niki, don't worry so much. Lets just focus on the whole… telling Summer who 'Sony' and the others are thing right now, alright."  
"Sony," Niki scoffed from the other side of the door, "That was a terrible alias to give him. Who names their son _Sony_."

"A lot of people are named Sony,"

"Not any guys," She snickered.

I felt frozen to the ground. My face was numb, and my fingers were shacking.

_What?_

_W-What!? What did they… how… what did they mean by any of that?!_

My eyes widened when suddenly, without meaning too, my hand moved, slightly banging against the door. I scowled when it made a creek, signaling the two on the other side that I was there.

There was a shocked silence, and then the sound of rushing feet.

Feeling myself tense I back up several steps, freezing when Alex swung the door open. On the other side, Alex and Niki's eyes widened in horror to see that it was me. Staring at each other, I slowly gulped.

_Every bone in my body told me to book it. To get out of there now and get as far away as possible!_

_I wanted some time to think , to figure out what they meant. At the same time though, I wanted to stay. To hear them out and figure out what in the world was going on. _

_Yet… it hurt. To know that there was some big secret that they had and everyone knew about it but me. _

"S-Summer-" Alex stepped forward.

"Stay back." I snapped, my voice harsher then I intended.

Alex flinched a bit, moving back to her original spot. "Summer… just hear us out." She pleaded.

I shook my head subconsciously, looking at the ground. Lifting my hand, I ran my shaky fingers through my bangs. "You… I don't even… what…?" I fumbled to make proper sentence.

"Summer." Niki tried, her voice soft. "We… We wanted to tell you but… Please, just listen what we have to say. I promise we will explain everything."

Alex took a few steps forward. I allowed her to get a few feet closer before something flashed through my mind.

"_Sony, that was a terrible Alias to give him. Who names their son, 'sony'?" Niki questioned._

_Sony wasn't… he wasn't really… Sony?_

I ran. I don't completely understand why, but I did. I ran as far as my legs could carry me. Out the door and down the street, not stopping till I knew I was far away from that house. Away from _them._

I think from behind me I heard the faint call of Alex calling after me, but I ignored it.

_Why did I feel so hurt? So betrayed? _

_This whole week has just been one big mess. First Danny, then the thing with Sony this morning, and now this?!_

_Sony_

_What that even his real name?! From what Alex said… I don't even know!_

I slowed my pace a bit into a quick walk, storming through the streets, hazily seeing where I was going.

_What did Alex mean by that? Why wouldn't I believe that Sony wasn't… Sony? If he wasn't Sony though, who was he? _

"Summer!"

I cursed under my breath when I realized that Niki wasn't far behind me. Curse that girl for being in track.

Ducking to the left, I headed towards the subway station. I could lose her there, within the crowds. Rushing down the steps I jumped to the bottom at the last five, pushing into the crowds.

"Summer wait!"

Forcing my way between a few people, I jumped over the ticket rail.

"Hey!" The man called to me, realizing what I was doing and was without a ticket. "Stop!"

This honestly hadn't been the first time I had snuck my way into the subway and onto a train. I had to admit this is the first time I did it so recklessly.

"Summer! Wait! Please!"

Taking the risk to glance over my shoulder, I could see Niki had stopped right at the ticket rail, unable to get pass the ticket man like I had.

Looking forward, I dove for the subway train, seconds before the door closed. The people within jumped slightly when I practically barrel rolled inside, hitting one of the polls, which stopped my movement.

Three seconds passed, and the train began to move, rushing through the dark tunnels with ease.

"Are you alright Ms?" A few people aboard the train ask, one leaning down to check to see if I was injured.

Lifting my hand to stop him, I sat up, similar to how a Zombie would.

The man jumped a bit in surprise at the sight and tilted his head, frowning in confusion.

"I am unharmed citizen, continue with thy own business." I announced blankly.

More confused then ever, the man slowly nodded and moved back to his seat.

Nodding in approval, I dusted myself off and got to my feet. Brushing some dirt out of my hair, I scowled to find that some how a stick had managed to get caught in my hair. Moving to the nearest seat, I reached back to pull my hair out of it's pony tail.

_I had always worn my hair up since as long as I could remember. It just felt weird to keep it down. It also didn't help that it always blew around in my face whenever I did. So, the easiest way to solve this was either cut my hair till it was super short or keep it up. _

_My mom refused to let me cut it, saying how she had only one daughter and would like to keep it that way. _

_Though I don't think length of hair decides the gender of a person, but whatever. Keeping it up wasn't that bad anyway, it had sort of just become my natural look. _

Letting my hair fall down and past my shoulders, I glanced at my reflection in the glass, pulling out leaves and other things that had some how gotten in my hair.

My hair had always been this sort of un-natural white color. I always just felt awkward when people asked if I dyed it.

I had always naturally been this white, though it was just a really light blond color.

_Yeah that's right, laugh it up. I'm a blondie, get over it. _

With a small sigh, I leaned my head back against the window, letting my hair hang freely. I didn't even realize how long it had gotten.

_It was past my elbows at this point. Maybe I should trim it a bit? _

_…Or maybe I should stop trying to distract myself from the problem at hand though? Yeah, that would probably be best. _

_I needed to think, to make a plan, and then think some more. Or maybe I should just rest. Rest my brain and let it calm down. _

_Yeah, that sounded nice. _

_Closing my eyes, I leaned back a bit farther into my chair, hiding my face a bit with my hood. _

_With a deep breath, I exhaled, letting my mind go blank. _

_"…Stupid Sony…" I felt myself grumble_

_-000-ALEX'S POV-000-_

_If there was ever a time in my life where I wish I had joined the track team with my little sister, now would be then. After Summer had rushed out of the house, Niki and me followed. Niki took a fast lead, rushing after Summer as fast as her legs were able. _

_Sadly, I had never been much for running, unlike those two; so I quickly fell behind. _

Rushing down the steps, minutes after my best friend and little sister had, I skidded to a halt at the bottom.

_I couldn't believe it. Summer had heard my conversation with Niki. Could this day get any worse? _

_I had wanted to tell Summer the truth, my way. Not like this! The worse part of all of it though, is that she doesn't even know the complete truth!_

_All she knows is that we have been lying to her for weeks, and the three friends she thought she had aren't even who they really say they are!_

_And Sonic… oh gosh, what must she be thinking about him? Summer was the closest with Sonic since he got here. They understood each other and hung out all the time. _

_Their personalities we so very similar to one another it was hard for them not to get close. _

_Now though…_

Moving through the crowds, I turned at the sound of Niki's voice.

"I'm telling you, I was just chasing after my friend!"

I spotted Niki a little to the right talking to two police officers and a man that must have worked at the ticket booth.

"Likely story. You were just trying to rush on to the train without buying a ticket, like your little friend!" the ticket guy seethed.

"That is sort of true but that isn't the point!" Niki glared at him, pointing an accusing finger at him. "I would have paid for my ticket, but I was just trying to catch my friend before she could get onto the train."

_Oh… great. Did I say this day couldn't get any worse? Well, apparently I was wrong. _

Moving towards them, I quickly stepped forward. "Excuse me, officers?"

They four of them turned to me, Niki's eyes beaming with relief.

"Alex!' she smiled.

"Do you know this girl?" the tallest of the two officers questioned me.

"Yes, she is my sister. What happened?" I nodded.

"This little brat tried to sneak onto a train without a subway ticket. Her friend jumped completely over and into the train too, just before it took off." The ticket man growled, glaring at me furiously.

I frowned at him. "I see." I gasped a bit, trying to catch my breath.

The smaller of the two officer's looked concerned. "Are you alright ma'am?"  
"Huh?" I looked at him. "Oh, yes. I just- I ran here all the way from my house. You see (breath) my friend ran out, the girl who jumped onto the train without a ticket. (breath)You see, we were running after her, cause we-"

"Got into a fight." Niki said quickly.

"Right. We got into an argument and she ran out. We chased her all the way here. My sister here is much faster than I am though and got here before I did-" I paused to take a few big gulps of air. "And was just trying to catch up to our friend. I swear, she would never try to sneak onto a train without a ticket without a good reason too. I'm sure she wasn't even thinking and just wanted to catch out friend."

The ticket man didn't seem to buy our fib, but the two officer's glanced at each other.

The tallest one nodded. "Given the situation and how this girl was stopped, we shall let you two off with a warning."

"What?!" the ticket man screamed.

The officer didn't look at him and kept his gaze locked on me.  
"Thank you so much-" I bowed slightly, slowly regaining my breath. Niki nodded in thanks.

"We hope you two find your friend." The smaller of the two tilted their head as a good bye and moved back into the crowds.

"You're just letting them go?!" The ticket man demanded to the tallest officer who was still standing there.

"They explained their situation, and the only true one at fault and completed the 'crime' is their friend, who managed to get on the train before it departed. The fee for a ticket was only 3 dollars a person, a fee I'm sure these girls can pay now." The officer looked at us expectantly.

"Of course!" I scrambled for my wallet, pulling out four dollars for Summer's ticket fee. Handing it to the ticket man, who stared at it, I looked at the officer.

"I said 3 dollars." He chuckled.

"Oh yeah but um… y'know, for his troubles." I shrugged.

"Cause one dollar is such a great tip." Niki mumbled. I elbowed her, making her pout at me.

"Then it is settled, no harm down." The officer clapped his hands together, as if closing a deal.

With a huff, the ticket man whirled around to storm back to his booth.

Watching him go, I looked once again at the police officer.

"Thank you again officer." I smiled brightly at him.

He smiled back. "Of course. There was no need to make a scene. Besides, I expected no less from that girl." He sighed, folding his arms to turn his head to the approaching subway train.

Raising an eye brow, I titled my that. "That girl?" I repeated. "You… You know Summer?"

Without looking back at us, the officer nodded. "I was a good friend with her brother."

Niki glanced at me, frowning.

_When I had gotten home, I had told Niki what Toby had told me. I told her all about Summer's brother, and how he had passed away 8 years ago. _

"You were?" Niki inquired.

The officer smiled fondly, as if recalling a memory. "Whenever I went to Emil's house Summer asked if I would play video games with her. We had this whole little group of friends when we were in high school that all watched over her in a way. Emil and Summer, they were like family to all of us. Our was Emil, Toby, Danny, Lily and me." He began to rant, as if getting lost in the past.

"You know Toby? He is our neighbor." Niki announced.

The officer looked back at us, tilting his hat up to reveal his face. He had dark black hair and chocolate brown eyes. "No kidding? Small world." He chuckled. _No joke_

Clearing his throat, he held out his hand. "Sorry, I'm being rude. I'm Richard, Ricky for short."

Taking his hand I shook it, as did Niki.

"Alex." I smiled. "This is my younger sister, Niki."

Ricky nodded. "Nice to meet you both. You're both friends with Summer?"

We nodded.

"So, why did she run off?"

We glanced at each other. "We-" I sighed, not sure how I was ever going to explain the full truth to Ricky. "Got into a argument. She got upset and ran off." I sighed

_That was sort of true. _

Ricky nodded. "Same old Summer. Trying to take care of everything herself and running off to try and solve it. She never liked to talk about her feelings with others."

I nodded. "Sounds like her." I agreed.

Ricky looked at me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I really hope you find her Alex. Summer is a good kid. If ya need any help though finding her just stop by the police station. I'll help ya find her."

"Really?" Niki asked incredulously

Ricky nodded. "Anything for family." Looking at his walkie talkie, which began to buzz, he frowned. "I gotta get going. I'll see you two ladies around. I wish you both the best of luck."

"Thank you!" we called as he rushed into the crowd, most likely being called for another complaint or emergency.

"Well, aren't we lucky." Niki sighed with relief when he left.

"What do you mean?" I glanced at her.

"Oh come on Alex. You have to admit that if that guy hadn't known Summer, and knew we were friends with her, he probably would have thrown me in jail or something." She folded her arms, letting out a shaky breath.

"I'm sure that isn't true. I'm not even sure you can be arrested for something so simple. Besides, we paid the ticket fee, so we are find." I assured her.

"…Are we really?"

At her scared and timid tone, I frowned.

I watched as she looked towards the subway train, most likely thinking of Summer.

_…Summer._

**_Wahoo! New chapter FINALLY out! I'm so happy! _**


End file.
